Trump Republicans Are Destroying Decades Of Policy Progress On Affordable Broadband

Quick background: the $8 billion FCC Universal Service Fund (USF) applies a small surcharge on traditional phone lines to fund broadband expansion to unserved rural homes, schools, and libraries (of which the U.S. has a lot thanks to rampant telecom monopolization). While the USF, like all government programs, hasn’t been absent of fraud (usually at the hands of private companies), it’s generally done a lot of good for people stuck on the wrong side of the digital divide. The kind of boring, steady infrastructure work that doesn’t get headlines, or mentioned in books about “abundance.” Enter Trumpism, which has been taking a merciless hatchet to absolutely any effort, anywhere across...

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