FCC Okays $524M for Rural Broadband from CAF Auction

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The FCC yesterday authorized more than $524 million in funding over the next decade to expand broadband to 205,520 unserved rural homes and businesses in 23 states. The money represents the third wave of support from last year’s Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Carriers and other 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 ten years. 

The FCC already authorized two waves of funding in May and June. Funds from those first two waves are expanding connectivity to nearly 100,000 homes and businesses that lack service. Monday’s action brings the total authorized funding to nearly $803 million, or over half of the $1.488 billion allocated through the auction, expanding connectivity to 305,518 homes and businesses. 

The agency will soon post a state-level summary under the “Data” tab on the Auction 903 webpage. Here’s the full list of funding applications approved by the Commission Monday. 

  • AMG Technology Investment Group is receiving $281.3 million to deploy service to nearly 100,700 homes and businesses in rural Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. Two-thirds of those will get service delivering speeds of 100 Megabit per second downstream/20 Mbps upstream, and the remainder, at 25 Mbps/3 Mbps.
  • Crystal Automation Systems, Inc. is getting $27.2 million to deploy service to 17,610 homes and businesses in rural Michigan. Most will get service delivering speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream/20 Mbps upstream.
  • RiverStreet Communications of Virginia, Inc. is receiving $32.1 million to deploy service to 13,518 homes and businesses in rural Virginia at Gigabit download speeds, and
  • California Internet LP is getting $87.8 million to deploy service to 11,845 rural California and Nevada homes and businesses at speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream/20 Mbps upstream.

Some of the money, more than $39.2 million, is going to New York over the next decade in partnership with the New NY Broadband Program. The funds will expand broadband to 15,442 unserved rural New York homes and businesses. The New York funding applications authorized Monday are as follows:

GTEL Teleconnections will receive $854,652 over the next decade to expand broadband to 260 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Megabits per second and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps

  • MTC Cable will see $4.27 million over the next decade to expand broadband to 1,659 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps
  • Otsego Electric Cooperative will receive nearly $4.3 million over the next decade to expand broadband to 1,146 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps
  • SLIC Network Solutions will get nearly $11.3 million over the next decade to expand broadband to 4,610 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps
  • Verizon Communications will receive over $18.5 million over the next decade to expand broadband to 7,767 rural homes and businesses at downstream speeds of at least 100 Megabits per second and upstream speeds of 20 Mbps

July 16, 2019         

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