News - August 15, 2022

INCOMPAS: FCC Misses Opportunity to Save USF, Now Congress Must Protect Streaming Revolution from Monopoly ISPs’ Price Hikes

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 15, 2022) – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released its report and recommendations on the future of the Universal Service Fund (USF) as requested by Congress in the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act.

INCOMPAS has been a leading voice calling for the FCC to take immediate action on USF contribution reform, recently releasing a fact sheet noting over 340 organizations support the USForward Report’s recommendations to save USF now. 

In response to the FCC release of the USF report, Chip Pickering, CEO of INCOMPAS, released the following statement:

“The USF program is on life support, and the FCC missed an opportunity to provide a simple and immediate solution to help save it. The FCC clearly has the authority today to save USF by evolving the program to include broadband internet access service revenue in the contribution base. This is a common sense solution, that can and should be taken today, that will help ensure millions of low-income individuals, rural families, and small businesses preserve the ability to connect to voice and internet services they desperately need.” 

“As Congress now bears greater responsibility for saving USF, we strongly encourage bipartisan leaders to stand with consumers and creators and reject monopoly ISP efforts to raise prices on streaming competition that has brought more choice and lower prices for hundreds of millions of American families.”