Nicholas Degani

1 month ago | broadbandbreakfast.com | Andrew Jay Schwartzman |Roslyn Layton |Lynn Follansbee |Jason Neal |Drew Clark |Nicholas Degani

In July 2024, the Fifth Circuit upended a $9 billion-a-year lifeline when it ruled that the Universal Service Fund’s funding mechanism is unconstitutional. Opponents say Congress gave the Federal Communications Commission and its nonprofit book-keeper Universal Service Administrative Company unchecked power to tax voice revenues. Defenders counter that the 1996 Telecom Act sets clear limits and that USAC’s role is strictly ministerial.