Media Contact:
Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253
mark.wigfield@fcc.gov
For Immediate Release
Windstream Communications Accepts Nearly $175 Million in Annual Support from
Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Over 800,000 Rural
Americans
Washington, D.C. (Aug. 5, 2015) - Windstream Communications Inc. has accepted $174,895,478
in annual, ongoing support from the Connect America Fund to expand and support broadband for
over 800,000 of its rural customers in 17 states.
The Connect America Fund support will enable Windstream to deliver broadband at speeds of at
least 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to over 404,000 homes and businesses in its
rural service areas nationwide where the cost of broadband deployment might otherwise be
prohibitive.
Windstream's decision to accept support from the Connect America Fund will greatly benefit its
rural customers by expanding robust broadband in their communities, said FCC Chairman Tom
Wheeler. The Connect America Fund is delivering on its promise of ensuring that all Americans
have access to the opportunities provided by modern broadband service, no matter where they
live.
Below is a state-by-state list of the amount of annual support provided and number of homes and
businesses served:
CAFII - Final Adopted Model
for Offer of Model - Based
Support to Price Cap Carriers
Homes and Businesses
- CAM 4.3
Supported
Support Amount by State
Windstream Total
404,625
$ 174,895,478
AL
1,889
$ 511,038
AR
32,312
$ 13,163,783
FL
17,891
$ 5,236,626
GA
64,721
$ 24,867,807
IA
44,930
$ 28,672,554
KY
62,070
$ 21,576,987
MN
4,440
$ 1,519,855
MO
27,509
$ 14,187,910
MS
2,760
$ 917,403
NC
6,988
$ 1,952,082
NE
21,560
$ 13,591,437
NY
5,210
$ 1,557,976
OH
13,073
$ 4,154,270
OK
16,741
$ 7,788,213
PA
34,807
$ 13,001,364
SC
3,144
$ 935,383
TX
44,580
$ 21,260,790
Like telephone service in the 20th Century, broadband has become essential to life in the 21st
Century. But, 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. The
Connect America Fund is designed to close that rural-urban digital divide.
The FCC's traditional universal service program succeeded in ensuring telephone network
coverage in rural America by providing subsidies where the cost of service would otherwise be
prohibitive. In late 2011, the FCC modernized the program to support networks capable of
providing broadband and voice services, and created the Connect America Fund to efficiently and
effectively administer that support to expand broadband in rural areas where market forces alone
can't support expansion.
Since then, Phase I of Connect America has provided $438 million, including over $87.3 million
to Windstream, to expand broadband to nearly 1.7 million people in over 637,000 rural homes
and businesses in 45 states and Puerto Rico, Over the next six years, Phase II of Connect America
will provide more than $10 billion to expand broadband-capable networks throughout rural
America nationwide, all without increasing the cost of the program to ratepayers.
In addition to Windstream, Frontier Communications Inc. has also accepted Phase II funding,
which will expand service to 1.3 million Frontier customers in 28 states. Overall, the FCC's
Universal Service Fund allocates $4.5 billion annually through various universal service
programs for high-cost areas to support voice- and broadband-capable networks in rural America.
Carriers receiving Connect America Fund support must build out broadband to 40% of funded
locations by the end 2017, 60% by end of 2018, and 100% by the end of 2020.
###
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