The Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2025 proposes to reform the $9 billion Universal Service Fund, which supports broadband access in rural and Tribal areas. Sponsored by Senators Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., the bill enjoys bipartisan (Republican and Democrat) support from over five national trade associations, 48 state associations, and 350 American rural broadband providers.
The bill updates Section 254 of the Communications Act to include broadband and edge providers (e.g., Big Tech) as USF contributors. Within 18 months of passage, the Federal Communications Commission will conduct a rulemaking to establish equitable, nondiscriminatory contributions from these providers. The legislation limits the FCC’s authority to this specific reform, ensuring a focused approach.
Universal service refers to the principle or policy of making essential public services like telecommunications available to all people, regardless of their location, income level, or other barriers.
Why include Big Tech?
Big Tech firms garner some $200 billion annually in revenue from USF-funded regions without contributing to the $9 billion program. Strand Consult has documented this and other dynamics its report “Ending Big Tech’s Free Ride on USF”, part of a series on USF reform.
Each USF-connected household drives at least $1,500 yearly to Big Tech’s revenue. Firms in USF areas drive an additional $20,000 each in revenue to Big Tech. In a typical rural network, every $1 of Big Tech’s streaming subscription revenue correlates with $0.48 in unrecovered broadband network costs, with up to 80% of broadband network resources and 90% of broadband network costs tied to the top eight internet brands. Since becoming an online company, Netflix has doubled the price of its premium subscription without having to increase its broadband access cost. Meanwhile the price of broadband has fallen dramatically.
Moreover, 25% of broadband network traffic is advertising, which consumers pay for at the same rate as desired content, even though they do not request it. A similar dynamic is underway with IoT devices and machines which also generate traffic and consume resources; electric vehicles generate some 5 GB per day of sensor data when they plug in to home broadband networks.