Jill Crosby, Sabrina Burns: Broadband Rollback Undermines Innovation
Policymakers revisiting the USF must recognize that affordable, reliable Internet access is essential for participation in the startup ecosystem.
As policymakers undertake a rewrite of the program that spends billions of dollars every year increasing Internet access, they shouldn’t overlook the impact they’ll have on the startup ecosystem.
Without the Internet, you can’t participate in the startup ecosystem, whether you’re trying to found a startup, work at a startup, or use a startup’s products and services. But currently, many places across the country—especially rural communities, low income areas, and communities of color—lack affordable, reliable Internet access, effectively shutting out would-be participants in the startup ecosystem.
This month, members of Congress are soliciting feedback and ideas on how to evaluate and improve the Universal Service Fund (USF), an Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initiative to promote universal Internet access. The program is funded by telecommunications providers, which collect fees from consumers on their monthly phone bills. Those funds are then distributed through four USF programs: High Cost, which increases access in rural and remote communities; E-Rate, which supports schools and libraries; Lifeline, which is aimed at low-income communities; and Rural Health Care, which helps connect rural health care providers.
The Supreme Court recently considered the legality of the FCC’s delegation of USF’s administration to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and ultimately upheld its constitutionality. With USAC’s authority to administer the fund affirmed, the bipartisan, bicameral USF Working Group launched an effort to assess the broadband affordability programs’ effectiveness and consider potential reforms to fee contribution. At the same time, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is now introducing rules to roll back E-Rate funds for Wi-Fi hotspots and Wi-Fi on school buses.
Founders and future innovators in underserved communities rely on USF programs like E-Rate to access the innovation ecosystem. Research shows that over 50% of rural Americans lack access to broadband, and people of color especially face this disparity with only 72% of American Indians and Alaskan Natives and only 68% of Black and Latinx people with connectivity. Diana Muturia, Co-Founder of Clyn, a Texas-based startup platform that automates cleaning operations for vacation rentals, explained how she relied on library Internet access to gain the technical skills needed to enter the startup ecosystem. “With nothing to lose, I started using the library’s public WiFi to teach myself how to code,” she said.
And even when startups have reliable Internet access themselves, they suffer when their users don’t and can’t access their products. For Charisse Smith—the founder and CEO of CAPTVR3D, a Columbia, Missouri-based startup that creates virtual marketing experiences—a lack of Internet can be the “biggest problem” for the company. “What I create takes a lot of bandwidth and sometimes with my clients when I show up to their location, and it doesn’t work, it’s kind of hard to make a sale,” she told us. As federal programs work to close the digital divide, more people can access the digital tools they need, including those offered by startups.
The USF working group should prioritize strengthening and expanding existing broadband accessibility programs, as other initiatives have been defunded, delayed, or scaled back in recent years. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)—which subsidized broadband services and devices to households at or below the poverty line—expired in early 2024, leaving millions of low-income households without the Internet access they need for education, work, and overall participation in the 21st century economy. Earlier this year, the administration cut funding for the Digital Equity Act (DEA), which would have provided over $1 billion for programs to increase digital skills training, improve online accessibility, and provide broadband access for rural communities through state programs and individual digital equity projects. And the long-awaited Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program has seen multiple delays as the administering agency issued new guidance in April, forcing states to reapply under new rules to access their share of the $42 billion to invest in state broadband initiatives. The longer that program takes to implement, the deeper the digital divide grows.
If we are serious about bridging the digital divide and supporting a diverse and equitable startup ecosystem, policymakers should use this opportunity to ensure broadband expansion programs, including USF, are widely accessible and stable. Current efforts to roll back E-rate and calls to cut back programs to ensure effectiveness harms the users USF is intended to support.
Jill Crosby currently serves as Policy Counsel for Engine Advocacy where she leads the organization’s intellectual property and telecommunications work, and Sabrina Burns served as Engine’s Policy Intern during the summer of 2025. Engine is a DC-based non-profit that works with thousands of startups across the country to advocate for pro-innovation, pro-entrepreneurship policy, including on increasing access to affordable, reliable broadband so everyone can participate in the innovation ecosystem. This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.
Broadband Breakfast accepts commentary from informed observers of the broadband scene. Please send pieces to commentary@breakfast.media. The views expressed in Expert Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of Broadband Breakfast and Breakfast Media LLC.
Member discussion