WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, is co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation to strengthen federal broadband funding programs and ensure universal access to telecommunications services across the United States. The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act would help modernize the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) – which has provided hundreds of millions of dollars to support broadband connectivity in Maine  – in order to protect the long-term health of the program, and ensure that the USF funding mechanism doesn’t disproportionately burden Maine’s older residents. The legislation builds on a provision included in both Senator King’s bipartisan BRIDGE Act and the recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, requiring the FCC to evaluate the impact of the bill’s historic broadband investments on the USF and submit a report to Congress within 270 days with their findings.

“Last year, Congress made overdue, transformative broadband investments with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and American Rescue Plan that will help expand connectivity to millions across the country. This progress is welcome, but there is still some fine-tuning that is needed,” said Senator King. “The Universal Service Fund has been a key tool in the effort to expand these 21st century connections, and the opportunities that come along with them, delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in connectivity funding to Maine – but the funding mechanism has not kept up with the times, placing an undue burden on Maine seniors and rural residents. This legislation would help the USF adapt with new technologies, creating a level playing field for all consumers and ensuring that this program can support broadband investments in the years ahead.”

“On behalf of nearly 850 community-based providers that serve rural America, NTCA applauds Senator Angus King’s support of the “Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act,” which would require the Federal Communications Commission to develop and act on proposals to address increasing instability in the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution mechanism,” said Shirley Bloomfield, CEO, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association. “The USF program, which is critical to providing and maintaining affordable and reliable broadband and voice services in rural Maine and other rural parts of the country – as well as service to low income individuals, schools, libraries, and rural health care facilities – is facing a shrinking base of contributors as consumers move away from the traditional telecommunications services that support the fund.  We thank Senator King for his commitment to modernize this important program by seeking a more stable and sustainable foundation for funding of it.” 

“We greatly appreciate Senator King’s support of the Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act. This bill will help insure the long term viability of the Universal Service Fund that enables reliable broadband telecom services to be available to residents of rural Maine,” said Shirley Manning, President/Owner, Lincolnville Communications, Inc (LCI). “We thank Senator King for his continued leadership in promoting rural broadband deployment and sustainability.”

The Universal Service Fund (USF) is one of the nation’s most important tools for ensuring universal access to telecommunications services through programs targeting rural communities, low-income families, schools, libraries, and rural health care facilities – it has provided hundreds of millions to support connectivity in Maine. The USF is largely financed by a fee imposed on landlines – as a result of declining landline use, the USF fee has risen from about 7% to 30% over the last two decades. This has resulted in less funding available to the USF, and a disproportionate burden on seniors, who have bared much of the cost of the rising USF fee.

The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act directs the FCC to initiate a rule-making proceeding to reform the contributions system, taking into account the fairness and the relative burden any changes in fees will have on consumers and businesses, as well as the impact the proposed changes to the contribution system will have on seniors.

As co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Broadband Caucus, Senator King has been a strong advocate for expanding affordable broadband access as a way to increase economic opportunity in rural Maine – to do away with the “digital divide” holding back millions of Americans – and has raised the issue consistently during the coronavirus pandemic. After Senator King’s advocacy and negotiation, President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to invest $65 billion in broadband infrastructure across the nation. The IIJA’s historic broadband provisions include over $40 billion in block grants to states and $2 billion for tribal governments, mirroring Senator King’s bipartisan BRIDGE Act and the Digital Equity Act, he championed to invest $2.75 billion in an array of projects at the state and local level that promote “digital equity.” This is in addition to securing $10 billion in funding for broadband in the American Rescue Plan, as well as more than $7 billion to close the digital divide for students nationwide. Together, these constitute the largest investment in broadband in the nation’s history – which Senator King compares to the transformational investment of rural electrification in the 20th century.