Universal Service Fund

The Federal Communications Commission approved performance testing procedures for carriers receiving Connect America Fund support to deploy fixed broadband networks to unserved Americans living in rural areas, helping to ensure that rural Americans have access to the same high-quality networks as Americans in urban areas. The action also ensures that carriers remain accountable to consumers, taxpayers, and the FCC, and are delivering the network performance they have committed to provide.

Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to end his efforts that would threaten funding for programs that help millions of Americans in rural communities access telephone and internet services. Chairman Pai released a proposal to arbitrarily cap funding for Universal Service Fund (USF) programs.

Ninety-nine percent of America’s schools now have high-speed broadband connections capable of providing enough bandwidth to enable their students and teachers to use technology in the classroom. 46.3 million students and 2.8 million teachers in 83,000 schools have the Internet access they need for digital learning. This success is due to the collaborative effort of governors in all 50 states along with federal policymakers, service providers and school districts.

Two stories from the Federal Communications Commission caught our eye this week. One gained lots of headlines. The second is a bit of inside baseball but could turn out to be big news down the line. Both impact the deployment of broadband and closing the digital divide. FCC commissioners have voted to approve T-Mobile's acquisition of Sprint.

In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, the state representatives on the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service expressed frustration with their FCC colleagues in coming to a consensus on how to reform Universal service Fund contributions. In 2014, the FCC referred the issue to the Joint Board which is chaired by FCC Commissioner Michael O'Reilly.

The Federal Communications Commission authorized over $61.8 million in funding over the next decade to expand broadband to nearly 22,000 unserved rural homes and businesses in 14 states, representing the sixth wave of support from 2018’s successful Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Broadband providers will begin receiving funding later in Oct. This action brings total authorized funding to nearly $1.2 billion, which will expand connectivity to 409,661 homes and businesses nationwide. Additional rounds will be authorized in the coming months.

I’d like to outline a few areas of our Universal Service Fund policy that I am currently focused on and address certain matters in need of attention.

We uphold the 2018 Order, with two exceptions. First, the Court concludes that the Federal Communications Commission has not shown legal authority to issue its Preemption Directive, which would have barred states from imposing any rule or requirement that the FCC “repealed or decided to refrain from imposing” in the Order or that is “more stringent” than the Order. 2018 Order ¶ 195. The Court accordingly vacates that portion of the Order.

Sen Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY-18) introduced a bicameral bill that would increase access to broadband service for low-income urban and rural Americans.  The Promoting Access to Broadband Act would help states increase awareness of, and enrollment in, the Federal Communications Commission’s Lifeline program, which aims to help low-income households pay for their telephone and broadband service charges by providing a monthly subsidy of $9.25.  Enrollment in the Lifeline program remains extremely low nationwide. The Promoting Access to Broadband Act wo

Satellite operators want to participate in a newly proposed $20.4 billion rural broadband program, but say the Federal Communications Commission’s scoring criteria for signal lag puts them at a disadvantage. The FCC is seeking to connect upwards of 4 million US homes and small businesses through a new program called the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund that would subsidize broadband in underserved regions from 2020 to 2030.