The Universal Service Fund was created as a mandate of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to increase availability of telecommunications services to consumers throughout the Nation. Over a decade later, revising the now outdated Universal Service Fund (USF) is one of the challenges that the FCC faces in implementing the National Broadband Plan released in March.
According to an article posted on TMC Net last week, the new fund, which the FCC refers to as the Connect America Fund (CAF), acknowledges that it no longer makes sense to maintain a fund used solely to subsidize landline technology, but instead should update the fund to reflect the constantly evolving and new technologies of today. FCC Chairman Genachowski referred to the USF as “a multibillion dollar annual fund that continues to support yesterday’s communications infrastructure.”
While both the USF and the CAF concentrate funding on underserved and unserved areas, the CAF focuses on broadband communications. Genachowski describes the USF makeover in his blog as “initiating a once-in-a-generation transformation, in order to connect all Americans to broadband, including Americans who live and work in rural areas.” The FCC’s hope for a result of the transformation? A step towards connecting everyone with the communications infrastructure of tomorrow.
