Get a text from T-Mobile? Here's why the Texas Universal Service Fund surcharge is going up

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- You may have gotten a text from your service provider this week letting you know that the Texas Universal Service Fund assessment is being bumped from 3.3% to 24% for now. The Texas Public Utility Commission voted to implement that increase last month.
The reason? It will allow service providers to continue serving rural Texans who don't have access to regular cell phone service.
In July, the Third Court of Appeals ruled in favor of telecommunication providers who said the state