 Under Genachowski, the FCC overhauled the $9 billion per year Universal Service Fund (USF) into a program that supports universal broadband service rather than phone service.The new Connect America Fund was approved unanimously by the FCC in October 2011 and launched in April 2012, and maintains the same annual budget as USF.The FCC projects the Connect America Fund will help connect over 19 million Americans to broadband, mostly in rural areas.