5G Fund for Rural America

Some counties have a bigger cellular coverage problem than they do a broadband problem. There are often a much larger number of homes in a county that don’t have adequate cellular coverage than those that can’t buy broadband. I always knew that the cellular coverage maps published by the big cellular carriers were overstated; now I know that they are pure garbage. Before the pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission came up with a plan to spend $9 billion from the Universal Service Fund to build and equip new rural cellular towers—using a reverse auction method.

Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and John Thune (R-SD) announced a bipartisan Senate working group to evaluate and propose potential reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF). The goal of this working group is to create a bipartisan forum to guide education, awareness, and policy-making on this topic.

All people in the United States shall have access to rapid, efficient, nationwide communications service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.

The Universal Service Fund (USF) is inefficient, ineffective, and funded by a regressive tax mechanism. Several reforms could improve the program:

The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation held a hearing on May 10 discussing federal funding for broadband deployment as part of ongoing efforts to

The cellular coverage in rural areas is drastically different than the national coverage maps that cellular carriers have been advertising for years. The Federal Communications Commission announced a process to address this issue in October 2020 when it announced the creation of a 5G Fund for Rural America. This will be a $9 billion fund that comes from the Universal Service Fund and that will provide subsidies for wireless carriers to build and equip new rural cell towers.

While America’s digital divide has been improving, large chunks of the country, especially rural and tribal lands, are still lagging behind in connection, according to research and experts, and that significantly hampers their access to vital, potentially lifesaving information. Without cell towers, urgent emergency alerts can’t get to phones and it is more difficult for residents to warn one another of danger or contact authorities. It’s a tough sell to get private companies to spend the time and money to build towers in rural areas, according to reports and experts.

When it comes to broadband, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is about more than money. For example, Congress also directed the Federal Communications Commission to consider the impact of the law's $65 billion broadband investment on the FCC's existing broadband support programs under the umbrella of the Universal Service Fund (known to wonks as the USF).

The Rural Wireless Association noted that the Universal Service Fund is unsustainable as currently constructed. When the 1996 Telecommunications Act was signed into law, voice telecommunications ruled the day and was the primary service supported by the USF. Circumstances have since changed. An explosion of innovation pushed consumers to use more data and demand higher speeds and lower latency.

Reps Jahana Hayes (D-CT), and Marc Veasey (D-TX) introduced the Preventing Disruptions to Universal Services Funds Act (H.R.5400) to extend access to federal funds for telecommunications programs for three years, eliminating the need for a yearly fund recertification. The bill was created to ensure internet access for millions across the country is not disrupted by federal funding costs allowing for continuous access to available resources.