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Senators Ben Ray Luján, John Thune, Amy Klobuchar, Shelley Moore Capito, Gary Peters, and Jerry Moran are among the bipartisan senators that have started a campaign to get the public’s opinion on the future of the Universal Service Fund (USF).
The USF supports FCC initiatives that provide funding for low-income and expensive rural broadband projects. The senators aim to create a bipartisan forum to guide education, awareness, and policymaking on the USF. They are seeking feedback from advocates, industry stakeholders, and local communities across America to better understand the current state of the program and its future direction.
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Senate Group Evaluates USF’s Impact and Transparency
The working group has posed several questions for consideration, including how Congress should assess the effectiveness of the USF in achieving broadband goals, whether the FCC’s administration of the USF is transparent and accountable, what reforms are necessary to prevent waste, and how to address fraud and abuse in USF programs.
They are also exploring the possibility of reforming the USF’s contribution base, potentially including charging edge and broadband providers, an idea supported by industry groups and some FCC commissioners.
In addition, the working group is examining the role of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which administers USF programs, as it is currently being challenged in court. The outcome of this legal challenge could significantly impact the ISP ecosystem.
The group is also discussing whether the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) should become a part of the USF and considering changes to other high-cost deployment programs in light of the federal government’s significant investment in connectivity through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
The senators are seeking input on the need for congressional guidance to improve future high-cost program rollouts. They have set a deadline for responses, which is August 25, 2023, and comments can be submitted via PDF through a provided link.
Source: Light Reading
