POLICY BRIEF: Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Announces Phase 1 winners

This week, the FCC announced the winners of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Auction, where 180 bidders won in 49 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The funding will serve 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses, with 99.7% of the locations receiving speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps coverage. The FCC also said, in a release, that over 85% of locations will be served at gigabit speeds.

The FCC stated that significant savings were realized thanks to the use of a reverse auction,  which resulted in an allocation of only $9.2 billion in support – significantly less than the $16 billion set aside for Phase I of the auction.  To read the full Connected Nation Policy Brief click this link or click the image to your right.