Healthcare Facilities
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Universal Service Fund Under Fire
There have been several lawsuits over the last few years that challenge the legitimacy of the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund (USF). A suit from a non-profit group called Consumers’ Research argues that USF fees are taxes and that the original creation of the USF was unconstitutional since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave the FCC the power to levy taxes.
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Washington State Sets Digital Equity Goals
The Washington State Broadband Office released its draft Digital Equity Plan in September, giving the public a full 60 days to submit comments and feedback. This wide berth for civic participation reflects the state's vision of ensuring every Washingtonian has affordable broadband and the tools to participate in our digital society. Here's a look at how exactly Washington plans to achieve its vision, and what this means for state residents experiencing the digital divide.
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4th Quarter USF Contribution Factor is 34.5 percent
The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) submitted projections of demand and administrative expenses for federal universal service support mechanisms for the fourth quarter of 2023. The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau, in consultation with the FCC's Office of Managing Director, previously directed USAC to carry forward up to $211.50 million in unused funds from prior funding years to the extent necessary to satisfy funding year 2023 Rural Health Care program demand.
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SHLB Submits BEAD Recommendations to State Broadband Leaders
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition issued a set of crucial recommendations to State and U.S. Territory Broadband Leaders as they shape their BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) Five-Year Action Plans and Initial and Final Proposals. “Community anchor institutions play a crucial role in ensuring open, affordable, high-performance broadband for everyone in the US,” said Adrianne Furniss, Executive Director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.
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Sustaining Universal Service Programs
The Congressional directive in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure that there be specific, predictable, and sufficient Federal and State mechanisms to preserve and advance universal service. The dilemma is that the source of Universal Service Fund (USF) programs is end user (i.e. retail) revenues from international and interstate wireline and mobile services, as well as revenue from providers of interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.
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The Importance of the Universal Service Fund
On July 27, 2023, the U.S. Senate's Universal Service Fund (USF) Working Group invited public comment on the future of the USF with the stated goal of creating a bipartisan forum to guide education, awareness, and policymaking on the USF. The opportunity to weigh in with the senators has had me thinking about the importance of the USF for bringing affordable broadband infrastructure and services to millions of people around the country. So I'm taking this opportunity to share my thoughts on one of the most important tools in our national effort to reach truly universal broadband.
This 26-year-old federal fund evolved to fight the ‘digital divide.’ Now a court might throw it out.
Over the past 26 years, the Universal Service Fund — a federal subsidy pool collected monthly from American telephone customers — has spent close to $9 billion a year to give Americans better phone and internet connections, wiring rural communities in Arkansas, inner-city neighborhoods in Chicago, and public libraries and schools across the country. Now it faces the biggest crisis of its existence, and Congress appears paralyzed in the effort to fix it.
Are anchor institutions the forgotten piece of BEAD?
As state leaders forge proposals for Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding, local stakeholders are imploring them not to forget about the role of community anchor institutions (CAI). CAIs are rooted entities such as hospitals, schools, universities, and government agencies that drive economic growth and social welfare in their communities. “If you're building out to those unserved homes, and there are anchor institutions, you might as well connect the anchors while you're there,” said John Windhausen, founder and executive director of the
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Alabama Governor Ivey Announces New Statewide Brand for High-Speed Internet Expansion, Details Upcoming Programs to Support Expansion Projects
Governor Kay Ivey (R-AL) announced that more than $400 million in federal funding and over $1.4 billion from the US Department of Commerce Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program will be used to expand access to high-speed internet across Alabama. Governor Ivey also unveiled Be Linked Alabama as the name and hub representing the state’s continued efforts to expand access to high-speed internet. Be Linked Alabama represents the state’s united effort to expand access to affordable, reliable high-speed internet to all Alabamians.
AT&T Safety System for K-12 Connects Schools to FirstNet
AT&T is giving schools access to a new security alert system through FirstNet, the company's dedicated telecommunications network for first responders. The school safety system will be available fall 2023, and entail a FirstNet-certified mobile app, wearable panic button and online portal designed by the telecommunications company Intrado.