Universal Service Fund

With all the buzz around what will and won’t happen to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, it’s easy to forget the government’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) is chugging along – albeit on a road rife with defaults and rural areas left behind. As of 2025, internet service providers (ISPs) have defaulted on $3.3 billion of the $9.2 billion total in RDOF awards, according to a study from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

Many stakeholders were shocked when it came to light that over a third of $9.2 billion in winning bids in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund broadband program were rejected after the Federal Communications Commission reviewed winning bidders’ long-form applications. And the tally of RDOF defaults isn’t complete yet. A Benton Institute analysis found that bids associated with nearly $112.8 million in additional RDOF funding are in default. The additional defaults represent nearly 1.9 million locations that had been expected to receive service.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) is encouraging eligible organizations to apply for grant funding to improve the availability and affordability of telecommunications services to Wisconsin residents. The grant funding opportunities include the Nonprofit Access Grant Program and the Lifeline Outreach Grant Program. Both grant programs are funded by the Universal Service Fund to help Wisconsinites access essential telecommunications services. 

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) is a program created by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) under former Chairmen Ajit Pai during the first Trump administration. The program was designed with two goals: 1) to extend broadband networks into unserved rural areas while 2) expending the fewest number of federal dollars possible. To accomplish this, RDOF used a “reverse auction” to select winning applicants (ISPs) that requested the least amount of federal funding to deploy broadband in eligible rural areas.

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the case of FCC v. Consumers’ Research—a case regarding the Universal Service Fund—for Wednesday morning, March 26. The court will decide on a 2024 ruling by the U.S.

This year’s policy platform highlights the various broadband issues that SHLB plans to prioritize in 2025. Within each topic, we look for opportunities to advocate for anchor institutions and their communities at the federal and state level. While we highlight many issues in this platform, these remain only guideposts to the policy work that we might accomplish throughout the year. SHLB always remains flexible in its efforts and stands ready to respond to the dynamic policy landscape.

Broadband access for all has long been a critical issue for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. With the launch of the Center for Civil Rights and Technology in September 2023, these legacy civil rights organizations renewed their commitment and dedication to closing the digital divide—the persistent gap between people who have access to digital technology and those who do not. The startling connections among demographics, regions, and lack of access to broadband highlight the critical need to close this gap.

This episode of The Divide features a conversation with Danielle Perry, chief compliance officer at TruConnect, and a board member at the National Lifeline Association (NaLA), where she also chairs NaLA's regulatory and government affairs committee.

This annual report provides a summary of the National Verifier and its functionality, and it outlines how the National Verifier meets the Federal Communications Commission's key objectives: to protect against waste, fraud, and abuse; to lower costs to the Universal Service Fund (Fund) and service providers through administrative efficiencies; and to better serve eligible beneficiaries by facilitating choice and improving the enrollment experience. This report also provides an update on the use and performance of the National Verifier, including a discussion of system enhancements.

For the Second Quarter of 2025 (2Q2025), the Federal Communications Commission's High Cost Support Mechanism funding requirements are projected as follows: $51.81 million for High Cost Loop (HCL) support, $253.11 million for Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS), $2.81 million for frozen Price Cap Carrier Support, $6.40 million for CAF Phase II, $36.60 million for CAF Phase II Auction, $88.36 million for frozen Competitive Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (CETC) Support, $84.32 million for CAF/ICC Support, $41.70 million for Alaska Plan Support, $43.57 mi