Federal Communications Commission	DA 26-877



DA 26-877
Released:  August 21, 2026

WIRELINE COMPETITION BUREAU SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR EIGHT BOARD MEMBER POSITIONS ON THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE ADMINISTRATIVE COMPANY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CC Docket Nos. 96-45, 97-21

Nominations Due By:  October 20, 2026

	Pursuant to section 54.703(c) of the Federal Communications Commission’s (Commission’s) rules, the Wireline Competition Bureau seeks nominations for the Board member positions on the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) listed below. 47 CFR § 54.703(c).
  Each position has a three-year term expiring on December 31, 2029, except where indicated otherwise.

· Representative for incumbent local exchange carriers (other than the Bell Operating Companies) with annual operating revenues of $40 million or less (position currently held by Kara Semmler, General Counsel and Executive Director, South Dakota Telecommunications Association) 

· Representative for interexchange carriers with annual operating revenues of $3 billion or less (position currently held by Brian Dalhover, Vice President of SLED Engineering & Policy, Zayo Group, LLC)

· Representative for competitive local exchange carriers (position currently held by Sheba Chacko, Chief Regulatory Counsel, BT in the Americas) 

· Representative for schools that are eligible to receive discounts pursuant to section 54.501 of the Commission’s rules (position currently held by Joan Wade, Executive Director, Association of Educational Service Agencies) 

· Representative for rural health care providers that are eligible to receive supported services pursuant to section 54.601 of the Commission’s rules (position currently held by Katharine Hsu Wibberly, Director, University of Virginia Health System’s Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center)

· Representative for low-income consumers (position currently held by Angela Siefer, Executive Director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance) 

· Representative for Tribal communities (position currently held by Mona Thompson, enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe)

· Representative for interexchange carriers with annual operating revenues of more than $3 billion (position currently vacant) The term for the position representing interexchange carriers with annual operating revenues of more than $3 billion is for one year, expiring on December 31, 2027.


We are persuaded that having Board members with substantive areas of expertise relevant to running a large and complex organization with such skills as accounting, finance, auditing, procurement, data management and information technology will improve the management, administration and oversight of USAC.  If members of the relevant industry or non-industry group fail to reach consensus on a candidate to serve on the Board or fail to submit a nomination for the particular Board member seat, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission will select an individual from that industry or non-industry group to serve on the Board as outlined in section 54.703(c)(1). 47 CFR § 54.703(c)(1).


Pursuant to section 54.703(c)(2) of the Commission’s rules, each nomination must be captioned “In the Matter of: Nomination for Universal Service Administrator’s Board of Directors, CC Docket Nos. 97-21 and 96-45.” 47 CFR § 54.703(c)(2).
  Nominations may be filed using the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), or by filing paper copies.

· Electronic Filers:  Comments may be filed electronically using the Internet by accessing the ECFS:  https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings.

· Paper Filers:  Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing.  Because more than one docket appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers must submit two additional copies for the additional docket.

· Filings can be sent by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail.  All filings must be addressed to the Commission’s Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.

· Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701

· U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority mail must be addressed to 45 L Street, NE, Washington, DC 20554.

People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov, or call the Consumer & Government Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530.

In addition to the electronic or paper filing, copies of each nomination should be submitted to Charles Tyler, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, Federal Communications Commission, via email Charles.Tyler@fcc.gov.  Each submission should specify the position of the Board of Directors for which such nomination is submitted and should be accompanied by the nominee’s professional and biographical information, such as a résumé or professional biography.  All nominations must be filed by October 20, 2026.

For further information, please contact Philip Bonomo (Philip.Bonomo@fcc.gov), Assistant Division Chief, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau at (202) 418-2778.

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