USTelecom — The Broadband Association has nominated Jessica Epley, Vice President of Regulatory and External Affairs at Ziply Fiber, to the board of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), the nonprofit that administers the $8.5 billion Universal Service Fund.

The nomination, filed with the FCC on October 7, 2026, puts Epley forward for the USAC Board Representative seat covering interexchange carriers with annual operating revenues of $3 billion or less. She would replace Brian Dalhover of Zayo Group, whose term expires at the end of 2026.

What does USAC actually govern?

USAC oversees the distribution of the Universal Service Fund's $8.5 billion across four federal programs:

• E-Rate, which subsidies connectivity for schools and libraries
• Lifeline, the low-income connectivity discount program
• High Cost, which supports broadband deployment in expensive-to-serve areas
• Rural Health Care, which funds telecommunications links for rural healthcare providers

The board seat Epley has been nominated for exists specifically to give smaller interexchange carriers a voice in how that money is governed — a category defined by the $3 billion annual revenue threshold. Ziply Fiber, the Pacific Northwest fiber operator where Epley leads regulatory and external affairs, sits within that universe of carriers, as does Zayo, the company whose incumbent representative she would succeed.

Why the seat matters now

The transition comes at the end of a scheduled term rather than as a mid-cycle shake-up. Dalhover's term runs out at the end of 2026, and USTelecom's nomination letter, filed in the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System, identifies Epley as its choice to fill the expiring seat.

USAC board representation is a conventional but consequential mechanism in US telecom policy. The companies that hold these seats help steer the administrative machinery behind programs that millions of households, schools, libraries and rural health facilities depend on. For a fiber operator like Ziply, whose business includes serving harder-to-reach markets in the Northwest, participation in USAC governance ties directly to the High Cost and rural program areas the fund finances.

The nomination also reflects the standard industry practice of trade associations — here USTelecom — putting forward named candidates for designated board seats when terms expire, with the FCC's filing system providing the public record of the proposal.

What happens next

The seat changes hands at the end of 2026, when Dalhover's term concludes. If Epley takes the position, she will represent interexchange carriers under the $3 billion revenue threshold as USAC continues administering the E-Rate, Lifeline, High Cost and Rural Health Care programs that make up the $8.5 billion fund.