Pressure is rising on the Federal Communications Commission and Congress to rethink an $8 billion fund that subsidizes phone and broadband service, as it teeters on a shrinking budget base.

Telecom companies, industry trade groups, and former government officials are ramping up warnings about the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, enabled by surcharges on monthly telephone bills. As subscribers steadily forsake traditional phone service for internet-based communications, revenue has plummeted by nearly 40% over the last decade.

The program funds four FCC programs that subsidize broadband for rural and low-income households, schools and libraries, and telehealth services.

Big phone companies like AT&T Inc., entities that benefit from USF programs, and public interest groups see the Biden administration as a new opportunity to press their case for an overhaul of the funding mechanism. But despite widespread agreement that something must be done, no broad consensus on a solution has emerged amid the brewing debate.

“The system is at a breaking point and you have both the big companies, the recipients of USF funding and consumer advocates saying it’s got to be fixed,” Gigi Sohn, a former Democratic FCC official, said. “The devil is in the details.”

More at Bloomberg.