USF Had More Than $8 Billion in Assets at Year-end 2015, USAC Report Says

The federal USF had more than $8 billion in financial assets as of Dec. 31, said the 2015 annual report of Universal Service Administrative Co., which oversees the fund for the FCC. The USF, which had assets of $4.5 billion in 2006, paid out $8.4 billion in 2015 but collected more than that, further increasing its cash and other assets, said industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg in an email Wednesday summarizing findings from his analysis of the annual report (see 1603310052). A portion of the assets was used to offset USF funding commitments in 2015, such as model-based Connect America Fund Phase II support, Gregg said. "These assets also provide the reserve funds which the FCC will use to mitigate the $1.5 billion annual increase in the Schools and Libraries Fund, and to underwrite CAF Phase II competitive bidding support." The assets include $6.8 billion in investments, the report said.