Proposed Law Forces Netflix, Google, and Amazon to Fund Rural Broadband Access

This new legislation, officially titled the Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act of 2025, aims to tackle the high cost of internet access by completely changing who pays into the government’s Universal Service Fund (USF). The USF is the pot of money that helps subsidize service in expensive areas and keep basic phone and internet affordable for low-income families. The bill’s core action is simple: within 18 months, the FCC must create new rules requiring major online content and service companies—the ones the bill calls “Edge providers”—to contribute to the USF right alongside traditional broadband providers. The goal is to diversify the funding base and, ideally, lower the costs currently passed on to consumers.

The 'Edge Provider' Tax: Who Pays for the Pipes?

Think of the internet like a highway. Right now, the companies that own the roads (Broadband providers like Comcast or Verizon) are primarily responsible for the maintenance fund (USF). This bill argues that the heavy trucks (Edge providers like Netflix, Google, Amazon, and cloud services) that use up the most road space should also chip in. The bill defines an Edge provider as any company providing online content or services that use the internet pipes. This is a massive shift, essentially requiring Big Tech to help pay for the infrastructure that delivers their products to your home.

However, not every small online business is getting hit. The bill gives two clear exemptions for smaller players. If a company transmitted less than 3% of all US broadband data and made less than $5 billion in US revenue last year, they don't have to contribute. This means the financial burden is clearly aimed at the giants who dominate data traffic. For consumers, this is the big question: Will Netflix and Amazon absorb this new cost, or will they pass it on through slightly higher subscription fees or service charges? Because make no mistake, this is a new cost of doing business for them.

Supporting the Last Mile in Rural America

Beyond shifting the burden to Edge providers, the bill also targets support for hard-to-reach areas. It requires the FCC to create a new, dedicated funding mechanism within the USF’s high-cost program. This is specifically designed to help carriers cover the excessive cost of building and maintaining service in rural, low-density regions. This is great news for people trying to get reliable internet in the middle of nowhere, but there's a catch: the new support is limited to only one eligible telecommunications carrier per service area.

For someone living in a remote area, this means the government is stepping in to make sure someone provides service. But limiting the support to a single carrier could inadvertently create a monopoly in that region, potentially giving that one company less incentive to offer competitive pricing or high-quality service. It's a trade-off between guaranteeing access and fostering competition. The FCC has 18 months to figure out how to make these contributions "fair and equal," which is a pretty wide mandate that will require some serious regulatory tightrope walking.