5G Fund for Rural America: Current Status and Issues

On October 27, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created the 5G Fund for Rural America (5G Fund). The FCC directed that $9 billion over the next 10 years from the Universal Service Fund (USF) be used for the 5G Fund to expand fifth-generation (5G) wireless service.

This included $8 billion to bring voice and high-speed mobile broadband services to rural areas unlikely to see 5G cellular deployments without subsidies and $1 billion for networks that can support precision agriculture.