WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - AT&T ( T ) CEO John

Stankey said on Monday that Congress should give the Federal

Communications Commission the power to require Big Tech firms to

contribute to a government fund that subsidizes access to

telecom and broadband services.

Under current law, fees are levied on cell phone and

landline service subscribers to support the Universal Service

Fund, which spends about $8 billion a year - nearly all

collected from surcharges on telephone bills.

"The seven largest and most profitable companies in the

world built their franchises on the internet and the

infrastructure we provide," Stankey said in remarks at a telecom

industry forum in Utah.

"Why shouldn't they participate in ensuring affordable and

equitable access to the services of today that are just as

indispensable as the phone lines of yesteryear?"

The issue has taken on new urgency since a government

broadband internet subsidy program used by 23 million households

ran out of money in May and shut down after the White House

unsuccessfully urged Congress to dedicate another $6 billion.

Since 2020, Congress had allocated a total of $17

billion to help lower-income families and people impacted by

COVID get free or low-cost internet.

The Universal Service Fund provides funding to help

low-income consumers, schools, libraries and rural health care

providers to get access to telephone or broadband internet

service.

There are several proposals in Congress to require tech

companies and broadband providers to contribute to the fund.

Facebook's parent, Meta, and Google

did not immediately comment.