Affordability/Cost/Price

This article considers some of the possible changes to the Universal Service Fund (USF):

As we close out 2024, one question hanging over next year is what will come of federal broadband funding for high-cost and low-income programs?

It is not controversial to say that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) program is unsustainable. Something must change. Universal Service Fund programs cover the cost of maintaining telephone service in high-cost areas, wiring rural schools, libraries, and healthcare facilities for the internet, and providing devices and services at discounted rates to low-income households.

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) has been the talk of the town for the past few years. The U.S. government touts the program is key to closing the country’s digital divide once and for all. Billions of dollars are on the line, so BEAD must succeed...right? I don't want to downplay BEAD's importance too much, because we'll probably never see something like it again in our lifetimes. But amid all the uncertainty about what BEAD will and won't be under Trump, there's a glaring elephant in the room.

The US Supreme Court rejected a broadband industry appeal and let New York become the first state to cap rates for low-income households. The high court, without comment, refused to consider industry arguments that a federal telecommunications law precludes New York and other states from regulating the rates charged for internet service. Business groups told the court that other states are now likely to follow New York’s lead, creating a patchwork of rules around the country.

One in four Americans list “saving money” as a top 2025 New Year’s resolution, and nearly a quarter of a million people ask Google about internet costs every month. Auditing your internet bill is a simple way to start. HighSpeedInternet.com’s latest report reveals average internet costs by state and provides tools you can use to compare providers and save money.

The next four years of telecommunications policy will be unlike anything Wall Street and other stakeholders have ever seen, according to one long-time analyst and former Federal Communications Commission staff member who has seen his share of changes and administrations over the past three decades. “The questions for investors are, what does the President want to have happen, and then how does that get implemented? How do the governors react to that?” said Blair Levin, U.S. Policy and Regulatory Advisor, New Street Research.

Earlier this year, a Benton Institute for Broadband & Society survey of low-income households found that 13 percent of Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) participants (approximately 3 million households) would disconnect their home internet service without the subsidy and 36 percent (or 8.3 million households) would downgrade to a cheaper or slower plan.

Many families are looking for faster, cheaper ways to go online at home. Lumen Technologies and Quantum Fiber recently introduced a new affordable internet program called the Simply Fiber Internet Plan to help boost digital access for more households.

The PLAN for Broadband Act (S.