OTI Welcomes SCOTUS Ruling Upholding the Constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund

WASHINGTON—In response to this morning’s Supreme Court decision in Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research—which reverses a July 2024 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and upholds key aspects of the Universal Service Fund (USF)—the Open Technology Institute (OTI), a New America program fostering equitable access to digital technology and its benefits, issued the following statement from Prem Trivedi, policy director of OTI.

Today’s decision is a promising step in the right direction toward closing the digital divide in the United States.

The USF provides the foundation for several programs that have proven crucial in keeping schools, libraries, rural health care clinics, rural communities, and low-income households connected to the internet. In light of the Affordable Connectivity Program’s lapse and this administration’s retrenchment on our long-term investments for addressing the root causes of the digital divide, we need the USF and the programs it supports now more than ever before.

Now that SCOTUS has put these questions surrounding the USF’s constitutionality to rest, OTI and other like-minded public interest organizations can finally turn back to the real task at hand: Transforming the USF to better ensure that all Americans have access to modern, reliable, and affordable connectivity services.