All in Rate-of-Return

USF Contributions: NTCA Paper Says Including Broadband In Services That Contribute To The Universal Service Fund Won’t Harm Broadband Adoption

A new paper released by NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association finds that broadening the base of contributions to the Universal Service Fund by including both voice and broadband connections would not harm consumer broadband adoption and retention.

FCC Releases Preliminary List Of Areas Eligible For Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Support; Challenges Due April 10th

The FCC has released a preliminary list of census blocks that have been deemed initially eligible for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction. The announcement begins a limited challenge process which gives parties an opportunity to identify by April 10, 2020, any of the listed census blocks that should not be eligible for support.

November 2019 News Update

An update on news from November 2019.

GAO Says FCC Should Make A-CAM Mandatory For All Rate-Of-Return Carriers As Part Of Antifraud Strategy

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report on its investigation of potential fraud risk in the FCC’s universal service high-cost program that supports rate-of-return carriers. Among other things, the GAO report recommends that the FCC assess the A-CAM support mechanism to determine the extent to which it produces reliable cost estimates and consider making its use mandatory all for rate-of-return carriers.