5G Fund for Rural America

The rural broadband industry has such a great success story to tell. In the face of transformative technologies, regulatory challenges and increasing competition, you have embraced that change, stayed committed and looked to close the digital divide by delivering the robust and high-quality services that you do every single day. Your commitment to sustainable networks and affordable services is what really has made rural communities fertile ground for innovation. We’ve seen that in so many ways, and this innovation contributes billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every single year.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel called on the FCC to move ahead with plans to make targeted investments in the deployment of wireless broadband services in rural communities. The proposed rules shared with her fellow Commissioners would, if adopted by a vote of the full Commission, relaunch the 5G Fund for Rural America.

"The USF is a critical tool to provide, among other things, Lifeline internet and voice service to low-income Americans, and reduced-rate internet access to schools, libraries and healthcare providers. Today's opinion underscores the importance—and the validity—of the Congressionally-mandated USF program.

The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing that included testimony from each of the five (yes, there are five now) FCC commissioners. A partisan tone was set by the get-go as the title for the hearing was "Oversight of President Biden's Broadband Takeover." The key questions for the Republican Members of the panel going into the hearing were:

LICT is best known as a rural broadband consolidator, but several months ago the company quietly added Sound Broadband to its holdings, not through an acquisition, but organically.

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking further comment on the 5G Fund for Rural America to reignite the FCC's plan to expand the deployment of 5G service to rural communities that remain trapped on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the September Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 21, 2023. The FCC will consider:

Some counties have a bigger cellular coverage problem than they do a broadband problem. There are often a much larger number of homes in a county that don’t have adequate cellular coverage than those that can’t buy broadband. I always knew that the cellular coverage maps published by the big cellular carriers were overstated; now I know that they are pure garbage. Before the pandemic, the Federal Communications Commission came up with a plan to spend $9 billion from the Universal Service Fund to build and equip new rural cellular towers—using a reverse auction method.

Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and John Thune (R-SD) announced a bipartisan Senate working group to evaluate and propose potential reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF). The goal of this working group is to create a bipartisan forum to guide education, awareness, and policy-making on this topic.

All people in the United States shall have access to rapid, efficient, nationwide communications service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.