Some candidates for state utility commissions promised to take on broadband and other telecom matters if they win election this year. Eight states will elect utility regulators this year: Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota. In addition, a New Mexico ballot question will ask voters to authorize millions of dollars for upgrading public safety communications. Meanwhile, Oregon voters will consider a universal basic income that would require Comcast and other big companies to foot the bill.

The District of Columbia’s universal service surcharge will be 0.25% in 2025, up from 0.2% in 2024, said the D.C. Public Service Commission in an order Friday. The 2025 budget for the D.C. universal service trust fund will be $446,000.

The FCC and a coalition of industry and consumer groups urged the U.S. Supreme Court to grant their pending petitions for a writ of certiorari regarding the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Consumers' Research's challenge of the Universal Service Fund contribution mechanism (No. 24-354). The FCC, in a reply brief Thursday, said the two pending petitions are "better vehicles for clarifying the law in this sphere" than Consumers' Research's petition of the 6th and 11th circuits' rulings (see 2410010024). The 5th Circuit addressed whether Congress delegated legislative power to the FCC, whether the agency delegated governmental power to a private entity, and whether the combination of the two violates the Constitution. The 6th and 11th circuits "did not specifically discuss whether the combination of the two alleged delegations violates the Constitution, and the petitions seeking review of those circuits’ decisions do not raise that question," the FCC said. The 5th Circuit is the only court to have found a nondelegation violation, the commission noted. "Granting certiorari in this case would allow the Court to directly review the 5th Circuit's reasoning," the FCC said. The agency also noted that SCOTUS has already denied petitions seeking review of the 6th and 11th Circuit decisions. Consumers' Research said in a reply brief to the coalition petition that there wasn't a reason to grant it "as their interests are adequately represented by the government" (No. 24-422). NTCA, the Competitive Carriers Association, USTelecom, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and Media Justice petitioned SCOTUS to review the 5th Circuit ruling. Consumers' Research noted the coalition didn't seek to intervene in subsequent challenges it filed since that ruling, "apparently confirming their interests are adequately represented by the government."

Elon Musk has emerged as among the most enthusiastic supporters of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, giving nearly $75 million in three months to his pro-Trump America PAC. Musk has danced at a Trump rally wearing a “dark MAGA” hat and announced Wednesday he would support Trump in a series of appearances throughout Pennsylvania.

Addressing tribal issues is important, but it shouldn’t slow the rollout of the $9 billion 5G Fund that FCC commissioners approved in August, the Competitive Carriers Association said in comments posted Friday in docket 20-32. Commissioner Brendan Carr dissented on the 5G Fund item, which included a Further NPRM on tribal issues (see 2408290022). Tribes and their associations commented on the importance of cooperation with tribal governments (see 2410170045).

AT&T will receive a refund of $2.26 million for Utah Universal Service Fund (UUSF) overpayments, the Utah Public Service Commission said in an order Wednesday (docket 24-087-02). The PSC approved a settlement between AT&T and the Utah Division of Public Utilities. Under the agreement, AT&T “will implement certain policies and procedures governing its future conduct and the reporting of its monthly number of access lines subject to the UUSF charge,” the PSC said. The carrier will receive its refund in monthly installments starting in February, subject to the company meeting specific obligations, the commission said. For two years, AT&T erroneously assessed a higher UUSF surcharge than the PSC required (see 2407110030 and 2405280028).

GCI Communications filed a redacted letter at the FCC on its pursuit of a plan to pay for 5G deployment in Alaska (see 2407230013). GCI and the Brattle Group are developing a model that estimates the incremental cost of providing mobile broadband service to Alaska residents. “The results of the updated model continue to confirm that deploying 5G to all Broadband Serviceable Locations in Alaska at 35/3 Mbps (average) and 7/1 Mbps (edge) by the end of the Alaska Connect Fund term would require substantially more universal service support,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-238.

The Arizona Corporation Commission should pull back regulations on Frontier Communications while eliminating Arizona Universal Service Fund (AUSF) subsidies for the wireline carrier, Frontier and commission staff argued at a livestreamed hearing Monday. Meanwhile in Connecticut, Frontier pushed back against a proposed $2.48 million fine for missing certain state service-quality metrics.

The U.S. Supreme Court will take up early in its new term whether reimbursement requests submitted to the Universal Service Administrative Co.-administered E-rate program are “claims” under the False Claims Act (FCA). On Nov. 4, justices will hear Wisconsin Bell v. U.S., a case from the 7th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court (see 2405220039).

The Nebraska Public Service Commission awarded U.S. Cellular nearly $5.5 million to construct 10 cellular towers near 10 communities through a Nebraska Universal Service Fund wireless fund, the PSC said Friday. The company pledged to complete construction within 24 months, said the commission.