Broadband Industry, Advocates Uneasy about Fifth Circuit USF Ruling

The court held yesterday that the $8 billion subsidy program was unconstitutional.

Jake Neenan

Jul 25, 2024 — 4 min read

Photo of Trent McCotter, partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, the firm that represented Consumers' Research.

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2024 – Broadband industry groups and advocates were not feeling good about yesterday’s federal court ruling that a major broadband subsidy program was unconstitutional.

In a 9-7 ruling, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans held that the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund violated the Constitution by taking the power to levy taxes away from Congress, creating a conflict with other federal court opinions that made a Supreme Court review likely.

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Consumers’ Research Fifth Circuit FCC ITIF USF Jessica Rosenworcel Joe Kane Blair Levin Supreme Court Gigi Sohn John Bergmayer Public Knowledge Affordable Broadband Campaign Geoffrey Starks Anna Gomez