Universal Service Fund

In view of outstanding demand, the Federal Communications Commission will open a second Emergency Connectivity Fund application filing window from September 28, 2021 to October 13, 2021.

As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act awaits a vote in the House of Representatives later this month, a debate over the future of the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund (USF) is already starting. Provisions in the infrastructure bill call for the FCC to quickly complete an evaluation of how the legislation will impact how the FCC's achieves the goal of deploying broadband to all Americans. Congress wants to know how the FCC can be more effective in achieving this goal. One brewing USF issue is how we pay for it.

With the transition of millions of children and post-secondary students to online-based emergency remote teaching and the widespread need for online telecommuting, the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for nationwide reliable broadband access. A fixed, landline Internet connection is critical not only for education, but also for locating and applying for a job, working remotely, and partaking in telemedicine treatments.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau, in conjunction with the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force and the Office of Economics and Analytics, authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support for 466 identified winning bids. The FCC will also soon post a state-level summary on the Auction 904 webpage.

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF or Fund) has been one of the nation’s most important tools for connecting our nation, including rural communities, low-income families, schools, libraries, and rural health care facilities. However, the funding mechanism that supports the Fund is under significant duress. The “contribution base” – the revenues used to calculate USF contributions – has declined 63% in the last two decades, from $79.9 billion in 2001 to $29.6 billion in 2021.

The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Managing Director (OMD) announces that the proposed universal service contribution factor for the fourth quarter of 2021 will be 0.291 or 29.1 percent. The Universal Service Administrative Company submitted projected collected end-user telecommunications revenues for October 2021 through December 2021 based on information contained in the Fourth Quarter 2021 Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet—Total Projected Collected Interstate and International End-User Telecommunications Revenues for Fourth Quarter 2021: $9.517295 billion. 

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeks nominations for a position on the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) representing commercial mobile radio service providers (position formerly held by Matt B. Gerst). All nominations must be filed with the Office of the Secretary by November 8, 2021.

Starlink’s goal is to beam high-speed Internet from space, down to the most remote parts of the world. Even though SpaceX's satellite internet service is still being tested—with mixed reviews—the company is getting a lot of attention in Washington (DC) at a moment when the government is willing to spend taxpayer dollars on infrastructure and take chances on new broadband deployment methods.

Over five million households have enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program since its launch in mid-May. The Federal Communications Commission released more granular enrollment data to inform its evolving awareness efforts, increase transparency in the program, and empower its outreach partners to better target awareness and enrollment efforts.

LTD Broadband, which was the largest winning bidder in last year’s FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, has asked the commission to reconsider its decision involving the carrier’s application for eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) status in California, alleging “egregious misconduct” on the part of the attorney that handled the filing. Unless reversed, the Federal Communications Commission decision will prevent LTD Broadband from obtaining RDOF funding for the state.