Media Contact:
Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253
mark.wigfield@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
Carriers Accept Over $1.5 Billion in Annual Support from Connect America Fund
to Expand and Support Broadband for Nearly 7.3 Million Rural Consumers in 45
States and One Territory
--
WASHINGTON, August 27, 2015 - Ten telecommunications carriers have accepted $1.5 billion
in annual support for rural broadband deployment from the Connect America Fund, which,
together with the carrier's own investment, will expand broadband to nearly 7.3 million rural
consumers in 45 states nationwide and one U.S. territory over the next few years.
Today was the final day for these carriers to decide whether to accept the offer of support from
Phase II of the Connect America Fund, a key Federal Communications Commission program to
expand rural broadband. Most of the ten carriers are major national carriers, and their acceptance
will infuse over $9 billion from the Connect America Fund into rural broadband over the next six
years.
Today we are taking a significant step forward in narrowing the rural-urban digital divide, said
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Access to modern broadband is critical to life in today's
society. The financial support provided by American ratepayers through the Connect America
program is an investment in the future of our rural communities that will pay dividends for all
Americans for years to come.
By design, the Connect America Fund incentivizes significant further private investment by
carriers receiving these funds for their rural networks. The Connect America Fund sparks this
private investment though subsidies that reduce the prohibitively high cost of deploying networks
in remote rural areas, with the balance of the investment borne by the carrier.
Below is the amount of annual support accepted by state and carrier, and the number of homes
and businesses served:
Homes &
Support
Businesses
Amount in
State
Served
Dollars
Total US
3,629,996
$1,500,895,507
AL
126,497
$44,767,752
AR
129,812
$54,276,126
AZ
46,526
$23,370,158
CA*
231,835
$98,330,096
CO
53,139
$26,509,143
CT
1,388
$435,139
FL
80,909
$26,836,154
GA
134,005
$50,858,551
HI
11,081
$4,424,319
IA
88,214
$53,200,244
ID
22,379
$11,502,990
IL
92,519
$50,128,844
IN
135,082
$51,128,227
KS
64,393
$35,443,694
KY
152,742
$54,573,721
LA
99,302
$37,378,605
MA
252
$63,258
ME
35,500
$13,289,220
MI
180,377
$60,512,568
MN
170,355
$85,622,871
MO
189,323
$93,728,312
MP
11,143
$2,627,177
MS
139,269
$51,506,992
MT
35,941
$16,310,111
NC
68,267
$19,055,517
ND
8,044
$5,656,741
NE
35,839
$23,215,615
NH
13,131
$4,376,606
NJ
1,881
$450,340
NM
32,340
$15,369,074
NV
5,235
$2,451,840
NY
59,627
$21,444,471
OH
166,967
$58,483,365
OK
17,391
$8,003,516
OR
50,327
$21,657,260
PA
76,777
$27,694,806
SC
49,358
$16,286,714
SD
15,071
$9,117,215
TN
93,422
$29,927,295
TX *
212,492
$93,131,882
UT
9,506
$4,441,848
VA
52,433
$16,588,786
VT
28,399
$8,789,359
WA
81,865
$34,421,951
WI
230,451
$95,438,696
WV
89,190
$38,068,337
In April, these ten carriers were offered $1,675,810,041 in support on a state-wide basis from the
Connect America Fund, and have now accepted all but $174,914,534. In states where carriers
have declined support, the subsidies will be awarded by a competitive bidding process.
According to the FCC's latest Broadband Progress Report, nearly one in three rural Americans
lack access to 10/1 broadband, compared to only one in 100 urban Americans. Carriers receiving
Connect America Fund support must build out broadband to 40 percent of funded locations by the
end 2017, 60 percent by the end of 2018, 80 percent by the end of 2019, and 100 percent by the
end of 2020.
Following is a chart of Connect America Fund offers accepted by carrier:
Homes & Businesses
Support Amount in
Price Cap Carrier
Served
Dollars
Carrier Subtotal
3,629,996
$1,500,895,507
AT&T
1,117,806
$427,706,650
Cincinnati Bell
7,084
$2,229,130
CenturyLink
1,174,142
$505,702,762
Consolidated
24,698
$13,922,480
Fairpoint
105,220
$37,430,669
Frontier
659,587
$283,401,855
Hawaiian Telcom
11,081
$4,424,319
Micronesian Telecom
11,143
$2,627,177
Verizon*
114,610
$48,554,986
Windstream
404,625
$174,895,478
* Verizon conditionally accepted Phase II support in Texas and California, subject to the issuance and
acceptance of regulatory approvals for Frontier's proposed acquisition of all the ownership interests of
certain Verizon subsidiaries, including Verizon California Inc. (Verizon California) and GTE Southwest
Incorporated d/b/a Verizon Southwest (Verizon Texas) by December 31, 2015.
###
Office of Media Relations: (202) 418-0500
TTY: (888) 835-5322
Twitter: @FCC
www.fcc.gov/office-media-relations
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).
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