The Supreme Court will decide the fate of America’s low-income broadband fund
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos via Getty Images The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on a case involving funding for a major broadband subsidy program, the Universal Service Fund (USF).
SCOTUS granted cert in a pair of cases called Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers' Research, and Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition v. Consumers' Research, which were consolidated for oral arguments. They center around whether Congress inappropriately delegated lawmaking function to the FCC by letting it set contribution rates for telecommunications companies to pay into the nonprofit Universal Service Administration Company, which manages the USF. It also asks whether the FCC delegated too much authority to a private entity by letting USAC manage the subsidy program.
The...