A bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate would expand the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution base. The USF includes four programs, which fund rural broadband and telecom deployments; low-income broadband; telecom, school and library connectivity; and a rural telehealth program….
The Texas Telephone Association, which represents about 50 rural telecom providers, is suing the state of Texas in connection with the state’s Universal Service Fund (USF). According to a report published by media outlet The Texan, the state owes the…
The percentage of end user phone bills that goes toward the Universal Service Fund has been climbing and there are serious questions about the sustainability of that funding mechanism, despite a relatively stable USF budget. It’s something Telecompetitor has warned…
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks is calling for the commission to conduct a data-driven analysis of the last 10 years of the Universal Service Fund high-cost program. The goal of the Starks Universal Service Fund review, he said, would be to…
As expected, the FCC today adopted a Universal Service Fund phase-out plan for areas of price cap territories in which the incumbent carrier declined Connect America Fund broadband funding offered in 2015. Funding for the majority of those areas was…
The FCC should not expand the Universal Service Fund contribution base or increase the overall USF budget, said FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly in an address at the Hudson Institute this week. “Instead of broadening the base, I want to get…
Two key telecom associations – USTelecom and NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association – have asked the FCC for additional Universal Service funding. The requests come in the wake of the revelation that more rate-of-return carriers than anticipated had opted for A-CAM…
U.S. carrier investment in broadband infrastructure has decreased as a result of caps imposed on high-cost Universal Service support, says a study issued today by University of Southern California professor and former FCC Chief Economist Simon Wilke. The study, titled…
I was a bit surprised to see the comments that the Fiber-to-the-Home Council filed with the FCC about proposed reforms to how the Universal Service program should be funded. The group aims to boost the deployment of FTTH nationwide and…
A proposal to phase out a statewide high-cost Universal Service program in Colorado has attracted the ire of CenturyLink, which is the incumbent local carrier in a large part of the state and a major recipient of funding from the…
In an address at the OPASTCO conference in Seattle today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski attempted to justify the Universal Service reforms proposed in the National Broadband Plan issued in March. Small carriers that receive Universal Service funding, such as those…
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