FCC Authorizes Over $20 Million for Rural Broadband

Will Expand Broadband to over 45,000 Rural Locations

The Federal Communications Commission today authorized over $20 million in funding over ten years to expand rural broadband in Minnesota and Pennsylvania.  Viasat will serve rural locations in Pennsylvania with $19,945,120 in FCC support, and Tribal provider Fond du Lac Communications, Inc. will receive $55,011 to provide gigabit fixed broadband to serve small, isolated communities in Tribal areas in Minnesota.  The funding represents the 14^th wave of support from the successful 2018 Connect America Fund Phase II auction.  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.  

In total, the Connect America Fund Phase II Auction in 2018 allocated $1.488 billion in support over the next ten years to expand broadband to more than 700,000 unserved rural homes and small businesses in 45 states.  The FCC has now authorized fourteen waves of funding, and today’s action brings total authorized funding to over $1.47 billion, which is expanding connectivity to 688,926 rural homes and businesses nationwide.  Funding rounds will continue until the authorization process is complete. 

The Connect America Fund Phase II Auction is part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America.  A map of winning bids in the Auction is available athttps://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/caf2-auction903-results/.

Source: FCC media announcement