The USF's future is one of the biggest issues for Competitive Carriers Association members, CEO and President Tim Donovan said in an interview. The organization is “cautiously optimistic” following U.S. Supreme Court arguments in the Consumers' Research case (see 2503260061), he said.
The departure of Elon Musk as a top adviser to the Donald Trump Administration could have significant implications for telecom policy, depending on when he leaves and how that changes his relationship with Trump, experts said. Among Musk’s companies is SpaceX, parent of Starlink, which stands to benefit from pending changes to the BEAD program (see 2503170045). Musk called reports of his imminent departure "fake news."
Lawyers for the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society said Wednesday that groups defending the USF had a good day last week, as the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the Consumers' Research case (see 2503260061). They spoke during a SHLB webinar.
The government defended the FCC in a reply brief in FCC v. Consumers’ Research, the USF case before the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that Consumers' Research (CR) creates a “straw man” to attack. Public interest groups, led by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, also defended the legality of how the USF contribution factor is calculated. SCOTUS is set to hear oral argument March 26.
WTA members are concerned about the uncertainty stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court review of FCC v. Consumers' Research, a case that could invalidate how the USF program is funded (see 2501090045), as well as the future of the enhanced alternative connect America cost model program, representatives from the group said in a meeting with aides to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. WTA members also “raised the need for addressing both USF contribution and distribution reform,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 10-90. “The current contribution factor is above 36% and is unsustainable, and therefore the Commission should look to assess [broadband internet access service] providers and work with Congress to have edge providers and others who should be contributing to USF do so in order to bring the contribution factor down and be spread equitably among all users.” The WTA members also reported on meetings with aides to Commissioners Nathan Simington and Anna Gomez.
The National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Legal Center joined Consumers’ Research in asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reject how the FCC handles USF. FCC v. Consumers' Research, which SCOTUS will hear March 26, challenges the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-7 en banc decision invalidating how the USF program is funded (see 2501090045).
Consumers’ Research is getting support from other right-of-center groups as it pushes a legal theory at the U.S. Supreme Court that poses a challenge to the USF's future. SCOTUS will hear FCC v. Consumers' Research on March 26, challenging the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-7 en banc decision invalidating how the USF program is funded (see 2501090045).
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted an administrative stay late Tuesday afternoon that temporarily blocked a White House OMB memo, which called for a freeze on most federal grants and loans, from going into effect. The Trump administration memo already faced an array of legal challenges, including a planned lawsuit from a coalition of Democratic attorneys general from New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Broadband officials and industry advocates raised questions about the memo's constitutionality and the future of certain FCC programs, such as Lifeline. Others warned the freeze could have serious implications for NTIA's BEAD program.
USTelecom urged legislative action to shore up lawmakers’ mandate for the USF amid the “existential threat” posed by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2024 en banc decision that the program’s contribution factor is unconstitutional (see 2407240043). The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the 5th Circuit’s ruling (see 2501170046). In an open letter Friday, USTelecom said Congress should “reaffirm” its bipartisan will to maintain USF “and reform how the program is funded.” It added, “Reform must begin by requiring Big Tech companies that benefit massively from universal connectivity to join in contributing to this vital national commitment.” Some lawmakers and other observers believe Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, may move Congress’ USF revamp toward making the program subject to the federal appropriations process (see 2411270060). In addition, USTelecom said NTIA, under President Donald Trump, “should roll back rate regulation and other requirements” for the $42.5 billion BEAD program “that Congress never asked for, while retaining a significant role for fiber, the high-speed broadband gold standard.” Removing BEAD requirements Congress didn’t mandate in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “would shed the unwanted baggage and accelerate what matters most -- getting the work of connecting everyone done,” USTelecom said. “Restoring a tight focus on the mission -- broadband deployment – can dramatically accelerate efforts to fill gaps in high-speed service, helping unlock economic opportunities and access to innovation throughout” the country. USTelecom also urged lawmakers to “move again” on the American Broadband Deployment Act permitting package that the House Commerce Committee approved in 2023 (see 2305240069). The measure, which groups together more than 20 GOP-led connectivity permitting bills, drew unanimous opposition from House Commerce Democrats, and local government groups continued lobbying against it last year (see 2409180052). “Congress should green light speeding up approvals for more broadband projects on federal lands,” USTelecom said: “With a third of our nation’s land under federal control, federal permitting reform would provide an immediate adrenaline shot to the capacity, sophistication, reach and security of our nation’s information infrastructure.”
The telecom industry and public interest groups supported government arguments asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ 9-7 en banc decision invalidating part of the USF program (see 2501090045). In a decision that sent shock waves through the telecom industry, judges on the conservative circuit agreed with Consumers' Research that USF violates the Constitution by improperly delegating Congress’ power to the FCC and the agency's power to a private company, the Universal Service Administrative Co. (see 2412100060).