Universal Service Fund

Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the introduction of the Homework Gap Trust Fund Act, legislation to eliminate the homework gap and ensure children have access to the internet at home. According to the Senate Joint Economic Committee, as many as 12 million students do not have access to the internet at home. Data also suggests that while 70 percent of teachers assign homework that requires internet access, almost 20 percent of students don’t have home internet access to complete it.

Community anchor institutions should be at the center of any comprehensive national strategy to promote the availability and use of High-Performance Broadband. Community anchor institutions use broadband to provide essential services to their community, such as education, information access, and telehealth services. But in the 21st century, community anchors’ missions are moving beyond their walls. Libraries no longer deliver knowledge that is housed only within their buildings or the covers of hardbound books.

Getting internet to the school is just one piece of the puzzle in closing the digital divide and the growing “homework gap” in which students lack residential and community broadband access. Even in communities with exceptional broadband in their schools, how are student experiences affected when nearby institutions and establishments, including libraries, churches and other public facilities, have limited digital resources and connectivity?

Minnesota state regulators worry changes to Lifeline could disrupt discounts on phone and broadband service for some low-income Minnesotans. In an effort to crack down on fraud and abuse, the Federal Communications Commission has for several years been working to streamline Lifeline's application process. As the changes to Lifeline take effect in Minnesota, they have stoked fears that some of the program's subscribers will lose their discounts in the transition.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed procedures for the first phase of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction, which will make up to $16 billion available for the deployment of fixed broadband networks across rural America. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is targeting funding towards some of the least-served parts of the country and October’s Phase I auction could bring high-speed broadband to as many six million unserved homes and businesses in 2020, representing the FCC’s biggest step ever toward bridging the digital divide.

The Federal Communications Commission began collecting information from telecommunications carriers on the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment and services in their networks. This follows the FCC’s adoption of a rule barring the use of Universal Service funds to purchase equipment and services from companies posing a national security threat. The FCC has proposed requiring carriers receiving Universal Service funds to remove and replace existing equipment and services from such companies.

As part of implementation of the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to support mobile and fixed service in high-cost areas of Alaska (Alaska Plan), the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau proposes and seeks comment on a population distribution methodology for estimating the number of Alaskans who receive mobile service within census blocks in remote areas. The Bureau proposes to use this methodology to determine whether mobile service providers participating in the Alaska Plan have met their performance commitments through deployment in eligible census blocks.

In early October 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its ruling in Mozilla Corporation vs Federal Communications Commission, the case that challenged the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of network neutrality rules (the Restoring Internet F

In a surprise move, between the publication of the draft Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Report and Order and the Federal Communications Commission’s final vote on the Report and Order, the FCC added the line stating that census blocks receiving “funding through other similar federal or state broadband subsidy programs” would be ineligible for Phase I RDOF funds.

The Federal Communications Commission announces the launch of the National Lifeline Eligibility Verifier for all new enrollments in Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Starting on March 24, 2020, eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) in these five states will be required to use the National Verifier’s eligibility determination process for all consumers applying for Lifeline service and must cease using legacy eligibility processes for prospective Lifeline subscribers. As of March 24, 2020, consumers in Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin can begin to check