“Without universal service, absolutely there would not be service in the rural parts of the country, because universal service — established 90 years ago, codified in the ’96 Telecommunications Act, and then modified years later to include broadband — really [made] the law of the land that every American, no matter where they live, deserves access to comparable and affordable communication services.”
During a wide-ranging interview last week, Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, told Telecompetitor how important the Universal Service Fund (USF) is.
“Universal service is what gives companies like our [members] the business case to actually build and operate in rural areas.” Without the Universal Service Fund, Bloomfield said, it’s hard to make a business case for bringing broadband to rural areas, especially those that are particularly remote.
In July, a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that the framework through which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established the Universal Service Fund is unconstitutional. The FCC is appealing the decision. “Are you ready to go to the Supreme Court?” Bloomfield asked.
A few days before Telecompetitor interviewed Bloomfield, NTCA joined other organizations in issuing a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, hoping to appeal the Circuit Court’s decision.
“Filing the [petition] will allow us to — when the time is right, if the Supreme Court chooses to take this case — have the ability to submit a brief laying out the perspective from the carrier industry,” explained Bloomfield. “This is what it means, and these are the consequences if you declare this unconstitutional and there’s no path forward.”
Bloomfield believes the consequences for rural broadband expansion will be dire if the Universal Service Fund is eliminated.
“Let’s say this case goes sideways, and we are unable to get a legislative fix (which we will lie on a railroad track to make sure that we get),” said Bloomfield. “You will see no more investments in rural America.”
Bloomfield warned that work in unserved and underserved areas will “dry up.” She referred to a recent NTCA member survey, in which 80% of the companies surveyed said they would stop deployment in the absence of the Universal Service Fund.
An Affordability Issue
In addition to the impact on broadband expansion that the elimination of the Universal Service Fund would have, Bloomfield also worries about the effect on consumers, especially rural consumers.
“Universal Service is also an affordability program. Rural Americans could never afford to pay what it actually costs to build and provide these networks [in their areas]. They couldn’t do it.”
But, she argued, ensuring that rural Americans have access to internet service benefits people throughout the country. “Aren’t we all better off because they are connected?” she asked. “I think people sometimes forget that we get our food from rural America. We get our energy resources in rural America. There are data centers in rural America. Without that connectivity, that stuff just doesn’t happen.”
Bloomfield said the NTCA board has allocated resources to help make a case before the Supreme Court. “It’s not a cheap proposition, but we’ve got great counsel, and they really understand the importance of the case.”
She also pointed out that the Universal Service Fund case is helping unite those who benefit from the USF. “The silver lining is that you’ve got providers who are saying, ‘This is really important. This allows us to build and upgrade [networks] and offer affordable service in these areas.’ And you’ve got schools, libraries, education, and rural healthcare at the table because they’re also part of the USF program.”
Bloomfield hopes to attract a bipartisan group of Congress members to file an amicus brief — separate from NTCA’s brief — to express their support for the Universal Service Fund before the Supreme Court. At this time, consideration of the USF is not yet on the Supreme Court’s schedule.
This is the first article in a four-part Industry Perspective series, based on interviews with Shirley Bloomfield. The other three articles are:
