Media Contact:
Chelsea Fallon, (202) 418-7991
chelsea.fallon@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
FCC AUTHORIZES SECOND WAVE OF FUNDING FOR RURAL BROADBAND FROM CONNECT AMERICA FUND AUCTION
Another Round of Funding Starts This Month for Broadband Buildout in Rural Communities in 22 States
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WASHINGTON, June 10, 2019—The FCC today authorized $166.8 million in funding over the next decade to expand broadband to 60,850 unserved rural homes and businesses in 22 states, representing the second wave of support from last year’s successful Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Providers will begin receiving funding this month.
In total, the auction last fall allocated $1.488 billion in support to expand broadband to more than 700,000 unserved rural homes and small businesses over the next 10 years. The FCC authorized the first wave of funding in May, providing $111.6 million in funding over the next decade to expand service to 37,148 unserved homes and businesses in 12 states.
To date, the first two rounds of authorizations are providing $278.4 million over the next decade to expand service to 97,998 new locations. Over the coming months, the FCC will be authorizing additional funding as it approves the final applications of the winning bidders from the auction.
“I’m pleased to announce that the second round of funding starts now for buildout of high-speed Internet service to 60,850 rural homes and businesses, which will bring them to the right side of the digital divide and give them access to the 21st-century opportunities that broadband offers,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Providers will be deploying gigabit-speed connections to the majority of locations for which funding is being authorized today, while nearly 8,000 homes and small businesses on Tribal lands will be getting fixed broadband service for the first time.”
The funding applications approved by the Commission today include the following:
• Central Virginia Services, an electric coop, is receiving $28.6 million to deploy gigabit connections to nearly 11,000 locations in rural Virginia
• NTUA Wireless is receiving $28.4 million to serve over 7,000 homes and small businesses in Tribal areas of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, while SW DinehNet will serve 869 Tribal locations in New Mexico
• Co-Mo Comm, an electric coop, is receiving nearly $22 million to deploy gigabit connections to over 8,350 rural locations in Missouri
• Commnet of Nevada is receiving $23.6 million to provide service to over 12,800 homes and businesses in 11 counties in rural Nevada
Below is a complete list by state of the companies receiving support, the number of homes and businesses served (locations), the amount of support over 10 years, and the minimum download/upload speeds to be provided:
State
Company
Minimum Speed
Locations
Support /
10 Years
Arizona
NTUA Wireless
25/3 Mbps
4,959
$21,262,510
Arkansas
Next, Powered by NAEC
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
6,582
$22,600,026
Delaware
Verizon Delaware
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
22
$148,090
Illinois
Illinois Electric Cooperative
100/20 Mbps
804
$2,276,419
Iowa
Heartland Telecommunications Company of Iowa
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
191
$627,920
Kansas
IdeaTek Telcom
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
2,490
$6,186,882
Maryland
Verizon Maryland
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
1,194
$3,058,921
Massachusetts
Verizon New England
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
305
$948,305
Michigan
Great Lakes Energy Connections
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
357
$1,043,543
Minnesota
Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
315
$1,313,543
Minnesota
Garden Valley Telephone Company
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
95
$880,346
Minnesota
West Central Telephone Association
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
532
$611,934
Minnesota
Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
209
$552,330
Missouri
Co-Mo Comm
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
8,356
$21,968,964
Missouri
Callabyte Technology
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
1,485
$2,174,192
Nevada
Commnet of Nevada
25/3 Mbps
12,844
$23,669,837
New Jersey
Verizon New Jersey
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
510
$1,621,782
New Mexico
NTUA Wireless
25/3 Mbps
1,476
$4,612,929
New Mexico
SW DinehNet
25/3 Mbps
869
$2,038,738
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Western Telephone Company
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
573
$2,303,928
Oregon
Douglas Service
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
533
$3,475,834
Pennsylvania
Verizon Pennsylvania
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
699
$1,672,629
Pennsylvania
Verizon North
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
10
$14,654
Rhode Island
Verizon New England
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
165
$475,303
Tennessee
Meriwether Lewis Connect
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
290
$1,183,627
Tennessee
HolstonConnect
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
517
$535,417
Utah
NTUA Wireless
25/3 Mbps
606
$2,566,538
Virginia
Central Virginia Services
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
10,827
$28,602,957
Virginia
BARConnects
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
1,734
$4,974,237
Virginia
EMPOWER Broadband, Inc.
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
838
$1,868,320
Virginia
Verizon Virginia
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
421
$1,399,211
Virginia
Verizon South
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
35
$138,038
West Virginia
Hardy Telecommunications
1 Gbps/500 Mbps
7
$47,435
Total
60,850
$166,855,339
Providers must build out to 40% of the assigned homes and businesses in the areas won in a state within three years. Buildout must increase by 20% in each subsequent year, until complete buildout is reached at the end of the sixth year.
The Connect America Fund Phase II auction is part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America. In addition to the funding that will be made available through this auction, the Commission recently provided 186 companies in 43 states $65.7 million in additional annual funding to upgrade broadband speeds in rural communities, and offered incentives for over 500 rural carriers to provide faster broadband to over 1 million rural homes and businesses. Chairman Pai also announced his intention to create the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which will provide $20.4 billion over the next decade to connect approximately four million rural homes and businesses to high-speed broadband, representing the FCC’s single biggest step yet to close the digital divide.
More information is available on the auction is available at https://www.fcc.gov/auction/903. A map of winning bids is available at https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/caf2-auction903-results/.
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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).
