Broadband Access & the Universal Service Fund

Colorado has actively pursued expanding broadband access since the late 1990s, with a focus on bridging the digital divide in rural areas and tribal lands, and has seen significant progress. As a rural dweller, and as a rural and small library consultant for the Colorado State Library, I have seen the direct benefits of broadband infrastructure for communities across Colorado. Of late, national progress of broadband access is experiencing significant hurdles.

I started my career at the State Library in 2011 as one of three Public Computer Center Trainers hired as part of a national grant called the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). This program supported, “the deployment of broadband infrastructure, enhance and expand public computer centers, encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service, and promote statewide broadband planning and data collection activities.” In Colorado, “enhancing and expanding public computer centers” happened through Public Libraries. 

The Colorado State Library spearheaded a statewide public computer center upgrade and expansion project in 76 urban and rural communities, including 49 public libraries, school libraries, and the two Ute tribal libraries. The project added or replaced more than 1,100 mobile and desktop computers and improved library services for people with disabilities. The project also provided statewide training and assistance to encourage broadband adoption. Through groundbreaking projects like BTOP, public libraries took on their roles as digital anchor institutes, rooted in their local communities and leveraging their resources to improve the long-term well-being of those they serve. This was also when I was introduced to SHLB. At first, I thought SHLB was a person, Shelby, who had to be some incredibly busy, highly efficient human who was an absolute genius project manager. Then I found out that SHLB was short for the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition. 

SHLB advocates for policies and programs that enable anchor institutions, like our Colorado public libraries and schools, to obtain and promote open, secure, high-quality broadband services to support connectivity and opportunity for all. They do this by supporting policies and funding programs (like E-rate and Rural Health Care), to ensure we have affordable, high-speed broadband to better serve our communities. 

The main funding for broadband programs comes from the Universal Service Fund (USF). The USF is paid for by contributions from telecommunications carriers based on an assessment of their interstate and international end-user revenues. Telecommunications companies are required by law to make contributions to the USF. Consumers may notice a universal service line item on their telephone bills. This line item appears when a telecommunications carrier chooses to recover its universal service contributions directly from its customers through a charge on their telecommunications bills. The FCC does not require telecommunications carriers to pass through their universal service contribution obligations to their customers. If a carrier does choose to assess its customers with a universal service charge, the FCC has established certain rules regarding how the charge must be calculated. 

SHLB is hosting two different webinars that discuss current hurdles with the USF and the role it plays in bridging the digital divide.  Learn more about the March 19th and April 2 webinars and register here.