What a Trump win means for the Universal Service Fund

The Universal Service Fund (USF) has been stuck in legislative limbo as the government wrestles with how to improve the subsidy program. Experts think USF reform could see momentum in Trump’s second term, but how that will pan out is a trickier question to answer. The USF, which supports broadband access and affordability in rural and low-income communities, is made up of four [sic] smaller programs: Connect America Fund, Lifeline, E-Rate and Rural Health Care. One glaring problem with the current USF framework is the shrinking contribution base. Telecommunications service providers are required to contribute a certain percentage of their interstate and international service end-user revenues. However, those revenues have declined over time as more consumers use broadband as opposed to traditional telephone service.