Universal Service Fund

On May 7, 2019, Reps Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), and Jennifer González-Colón (D-PR) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai regarding communications restoration efforts in Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. "It is no secret that the cost of deploying fiber or other forms of wireline and wireless broadband access to our nation's rural and remote communities is expensive, and we have an obligation to bridge the digital divide for all communities, regardless of where they may be located.

This week we learned that the Federal Communications Commission will vote on its latest plan to subsidize broadband deployment in rural areas at its January meeting. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, first proposed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai back in August, will provide up to $20.4 billion over the next decade to support the deployment of broadband networks in those parts of rural America that currently lack fixed broadband service that meets the FCC's baseline speed standards (25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload).

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the January Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 30, 2020:

For years, low-income households have been able to get cheap cell service and even free smartphones via the US government-funded Lifeline Assistance program. One provider, Assurance Wireless, offers a free Android device along with free data, texts and minutes. It all sounds ideal for those who don’t have the money to splash on fancy Apple or Google phones.

I'm sharing with my fellow commissioners a draft order that would establish the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, a modern approach for connecting those hardest-to-serve corners of our country. At the FCC's January open meeting, we'll vote on this order—our biggest step yet to close the digital divide. The new Fund will provide up to $20.4 billion over the next decade to support the deployment of high-speed broadband networks in those parts of rural America that currently lack fixed broadband service that meets the Commission's baseline speed standards.

US Telecom -- a lobbying group with members including AT&T, Verizon, and Frontier -- is fighting against higher Internet speeds in a US subsidy program for rural areas without good broadband access. The Federal Communications Commission's plan for the next version of its rural-broadband fund sets 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload as the "baseline" tier. Internet service providers seem to be onboard with that baseline level for the planned Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA) announced that Westfield Gas & Electric, which is managing broadband construction projects in 20 rural towns, has secured $10.2 million as part of a funding authorization from the Federal Communications Commission, through the Connect America Fund Phase II.

Tope broadband stories from 2019:

1. Policymakers wake up to the importance of universal broadband.
2. Full court press put on broadband mapping problems. 
3. Carriers are ultra-competitive over 5G. 
4. Edge computing is hot and should get hotter.
5. Policymakers also wake up to the need for more spectrum. 
6. Windstream files for bankruptcy and Frontier could follow.
7. Fixed wireless gains momentum.
8. Video shakeup continues – with little agreement on where it’s going.