USAC Audits Are ‘Kafkaesque,’ Industry Tells FCC

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2026 – Industry groups urged the Federal Communications Commission to overhaul the nation's universal service fund auditing system, arguing reviews have become slow, inconsistent and disproportionately burdensome.

The comments came Friday in response to a broad FCC inquiry into possible reforms to the Universal Service Administrative Company's operations, governance and oversight framework. 

The dominant theme was audits, designed to assess compliance with FCC rules and safeguard the Universal Service Fund, are dysfunctional. Providers described multi-year reviews, contradictory findings and response deadlines measured in days, even as audits themselves dragged on for years.