The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of the fees collected to support the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) programs. Specifically, the court is reviewing the Fifth Circuit’s decision that held the USF’s contribution mechanism unconstitutional.
The lower court agreed with Consumers’ Research, a free-market advocacy group, which brought the case against the FCC. In 2023, Consumers’ Research filed suit in the Fifth, Sixth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Circuit Courts on behalf of telephone consumers in each respective region. It called the FCC’s delegation of the USF’s administration an unconstitutional transfer of government power to the private sector, according to the Institute for Broadband & Society.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel welcomed the review, calling the lower court ruling “misguided.” Rosenworcel explained, “For decades, there has been broad, bipartisan support for the Universal Service Fund and the FCC programs that help communications reach the most rural and least-connected households in the United States, as well as hospitals, schools, and libraries nationwide. I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will overturn the decision that put this vital system at risk.”
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), and USTelecom–The Broadband Association, were also pleased. NTCA, CCA, USTelecom and other parties intervened in appeals challenging the constitutionality of the USF contribution mechanism in the circuit courts. The telecom trade associations, other parties and the federal government had petitioned the Supreme Court to review the Fifth Circuit decision declaring the contribution mechanism unconstitutional.
NTCA , CCA, and USTelecom stated, “The Fifth Circuit’s decision is contrary to Supreme Court precedent and the decision of several other circuit courts of appeals, and it threatens to undermine universal service programs that, for many decades, have served to promote the availability and affordability of critical communications services for millions of rural and low-income consumers, rural health care facilities, and schools and libraries across the nation. We look forward to presenting arguments in defense of the USF contribution mechanism as the case moves forward, and ultimately to dispelling the uncertainty that these challenges have created in furthering our nation’s mission of universal service.”
The USF uses fees paid by telephone users to fund four major telecommunications programs:
- E-Rate, which provides discounted internet access for schools and libraries.
- Lifeline, which provides subsidies for telephone and internet service to low-income censurers.
- Rural Healthcare, which provides funding to eligible health care providers for telecommunications and broadband services necessary for the provision of health care.
- High Cost, which helps pay for deployment and ongoing support for telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
Reader Interactions