Connect America Fund Expanding Broadband to . M Frontier Customers

Media Contact:

Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253

mark.wigfield@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

Frontier Communications Accepts Over $283 Million Connect America Fund Offer to

Expand and Support Broadband for 1.3 Million Rural Americans

Washington, D.C. (June 16, 2015) - Frontier Communications Inc. has accepted $283.4 million

from the Connect America Fund to expand and support broadband to over 1.3 million of its rural

customers in 28 states.

The Connect America Fund will provide ongoing support for rural broadband networks in

Frontier's service area capable of delivering broadband at speeds of at least 10 Mbps for

downloads and 1 Mbps uploads in over 650,000 homes and businesses nationwide

The Connect America Fund will enable Frontier to expand robust broadband in its rural service

areas, benefitting its customers and their communities, said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. This

is a major step forward in the FCC's efforts to ensure that all Americans have access to modern

broadband and the opportunities it provides, no matter where they live.

The list of states, locations served and dollar amounts is as follows:

Homes and Businesses

State

Service

Amount of Support

Frontier U.S. Total

659,587

$283,401,855

AL

7,376

$2,998,480

AZ

22,768

$13,281,066

CA

12,822

$6,096,767

CT

1,388

$435,139

FL

951

$342,490

GA

1,105

$375,826

IA

5,438

$4,240,587

ID

10,012

$5,223,121

IL

56,001

$31,017,498

IN

59,894

$22,815,087

MI

68,512

$21,733,859

MN

46,910

$27,551,363

MS

2,528

$816,996

MT

2,303

$1,114,484

NC

11,981

$3,596,156

NE

3,380

$2,735,761

NM

7,032

$4,426,327

NV

2,970

$1,379,494

NY

45,610

$17,381,485

OH

66,592

$22,927,850

OR

8,542

$3,897,357

PA

11,031

$3,891,253

SC

7,205

$2,709,651

TN

6,458

$2,126,605

UT

5,140

$2,547,047

WA

19,713

$8,688,054

WI

76,735

$30,983,715

WV

89,190

$38,068,337

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 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 to expand broadband to nearly

1.7 million people in over 637,000 homes and businesses in 45 states and Puerto Rico, including

$133 million to Frontier. 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.

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. 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.

A spreadsheet listing all counties by state where Frontier will expand broadband is available at

https://transition.fcc.gov/wcb/CAM43_County_FINAL_052115.xlsx.

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LINK:	http://www.fcc.gov/document/connect-america-fund-expanding-broadband-1...
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