Universal Service Fund

The Federal Communications Commission is already taking steps to nix the dead enrollees in the agency’s low-income subsidy program known as Lifeline following a revelation from Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO) that 47,942 deceased individuals were signed up between 2014 and October 2017. In July 2017,  FCC Chairman Ajit Pai directed the Universal Service Administrative Company, the nonprofit that manages the subsidies, “to take specific, immediate steps to mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program, including enrollment and subscribership of the deceased,” a FCC spokesman said.

The Federal Communications Commission began moving almost $9 billion collected to subsidize phone and broadband service from a Bank of America account to what auditors call safer ground at the US Treasury. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has begun shifting the Universal Service Fund money on advice from government auditors, who said keeping the money outside government coffers was risky, according to Mark Wigfield, an FCC spokesman. Auditors recommended moving the money “to better protect and manage this nearly $9 billion fund,” Wigfield said.

[Press release] House Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT):

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai stopped in Quincy, Florida, as part of a campaign to promote high-speed internet and close the digital divide in rural areas. “I want to illustrate the power of the internet to transform communities and the cost of not getting internet access to some of these communities,” Chairman Pai told business, school and economic development officials gathered at the Quincy site for TDS Telecom, a national internet provider with more than 13,000 Gadsden County customers. He said the digital divide is more prevalent in rural areas.

When the Universal Service Administration Company (USAC) issued budget figures for the Universal Service Fund (USF) high-cost program, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai took the opportunity to blame USF funding cuts on the previous administration and attempted to drum up support for alternative budget control mechanisms proposed under his administration. The USAC budget figures show forecasted demand for rate of return carriers for the high-cost program for 2018-2019 exceeding the budget by 15.52%.

The Federal Communications Commission sent a letter that instructed the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) not to deny E-rate applications over confusion caused by the drop-down menu issue. The letter also directs USAC to clarify the language for Funding Year 2019. John Windhausen, Jr., Executive Director of SHLB, said:

Effective immediately, as of May 2018, the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) will accept payments to and distribute funds from the US Treasury. This is not a change to USAC’s administration of the Universal Service Fund (USF).

[Speech] It’s no secret that I’m a native of small-town Kansas. I know how great it is to grow up in rural America. And I want future generations to be able to have that same experience—to see small towns as a place where they can start a family and build a career. This isn’t just nostalgia. It’s about our economy and national competitiveness. In a connected global economy, we can’t leave millions of Americans sitting on the sidelines. Some say we can’t afford to bring high-speed connectivity to places like rural Kansas. I say we can’t afford not to.

Under the Trump administration, rural schools requesting funding for broadband expansion have faced record delays and denials, according to the non-profit EducationSuperHighway, which works to get schools connected to the internet. By their count, more than 60 eligible fiber projects have been unfairly denied since 2017, a rate that EducationSuperHighway CEO Evan Marwell says has spiked dramatically from years prior. Meanwhile, more than 30 schools have been waiting about a year for approval. On average, they currently wait an average of 240 days for an answer.

The Federal Communications Commission is proposing to help protect the security of the nation’s communications networks through its stewardship of the over $8.5 billion a year Universal Service Fund (USF). The FCC is seeking comment on a proposal to prohibit use of USF funds on the purchase of equipment or services from any company that poses a national security threat to the integrity of US communications networks or the communications supply chain. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking also seeks comment on a number of issues, including: