FCC Opens Review of Universal Service Administration, Questions USAC’s Future
The agency questions USAC’s processes, expenses, governance structure and long-term role as the Universal Service Fund’s administrator.
WASHINGTON, July 20, 2026 – The Universal Service Fund’s back-office operations are at the center of a Federal Communications Commission regulatory debate.
The FCC is launching its first comprehensive review of the Universal Service Administrative Company’s operations since designating USAC as the permanent administrator of USF programs in 1998. The private, not-for-profit corporation oversees more than $9 billion in broadband subsidies annually. Now, in a draft proposed rulemaking, released Thursday, the FCC is explicitly asking whether that structure remains appropriate.
