“The job of meeting the Universal Service obligation does not have an expiration date.”

In the discussion on the future of USF, Vantage Point is – as always – taking the long view. Last week Larry Thompson, PE, Jeff Smith, Doug Eidahl, JD, and Mikaela Burma, JD submitted comments on the matter of WC Docket No. 21-476, discussing the future of the Universal Service Fund.

As reported by the NECA Washington Watch, Vantage Point’s comments centered on matters of network maintenance and scalability, noting the well-established trend of increasing consumer usage patterns. Vantage Point noted that the Commission has accomplished several goals over the past decade, as we now sit in the middle phase of a three-phase regulatory paradigm, but obstacles remain; and the third FCC phase to extend federal USF support to a sustainability level is an important complement to current funding efforts. Looking to the future, networks supported by USF must be scalable to support evolving customer usage patterns; and while the current infusion of federal grant dollars supports foundational investment in infrastructure, operating expense support is essential to continuing policy obligations. And lastly, common metrics can help support a proper conclusion.

Full comments are available here. Replies are due March 17, 2022.