USF

Telecom Act Aides Say Failure to Define Broadband Sparked Years of Regulatory Fights

At the Benton Institute event, panelists reflect on successes and failures of the Telecom Act of 1996

Kelcie Lee

Mar 6, 2026 — 2 min read

Photo (from left) Telepoly President John Windhausen, former FCC Special Counsel Katie King, INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering, Keeney Consulting Founder Gina Keeney, and Moderator Andrew Jay Schwartzman at a Benton Institute event Thursday.

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2026 – When it comes to universal service, architects of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 say they failed to address broadband’s regulatory status and failed to include a mechanism requiring the Universal Service Fund (USF) to be modernized every couple years.

At the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society’s Telecom Act at 30 event on Thursday, moderator Andrew Jay Schwartzman hosted a panel focused on celebrating and reflecting on the Telecom Act of 1996.

John Windhausen, a Senate staffer in 1996, said a “big disappointment” was that the act didn’t better define what broadband was, especially as the country was on the cusp of deploying service at that time. He said the law could have implemented a “lighter regulatory regime for broadband,” which would have prevented “decades of litigious activity and rulemaking proceedings.”

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USF universal service Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 1996 Telecommunications Act Telecommunications Act of 1996 Andrew Jay Schwartzman John Windhausen John Windhausen Jr. Telepoly INCOMPAS chip pickering Senate Commerce Committee FCC Gina Keeney Congress AI Artifical Intelligence