The president has signed the Rural Broadband Protection Act of 2025 (S-98) into law. This law requires the FCC to establish a vetting process for applicants for new high-cost universal service program funding programs. Within 180 days, the FCC must initiate a rulemaking to establish a process to ensure that high-cost program applicants possess the technical, financial, and operational capabilities to deploy the proposed network and deliver services. The FCC is also directed to consider an applicant’s history of program compliance in evaluating proposals.
