Carriers Accept Over $.5 B in Support to Expand Rural Broadband

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).

LINK:	http://www.fcc.gov/document/carriers-accept-over-15-b-support-expand-r...
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