Media Contact: Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253 mark.wigfield@fcc.gov For Immediate Release CenturyLink Accepts Nearly $506 Million in Annual Support from Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Over 2.3 Million Consumers in 33 States -- WASHINGTON, August 27, 2015 – CenturyLink, Inc. has accepted $505,703,762 in annual, ongoing support from the Connect America Fund to expand and support broadband for over 2.3 million of its rural customers. The Connect America Fund support will enable CenturyLink to deliver broadband at speeds of at least 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to nearly 1.2 million homes and businesses in its rural service areas where the cost of broadband deployment might otherwise be prohibitive. “CenturyLink’s acceptance of over one-half billion dollars from the Connect America Fund represents a huge investment in broadband for its rural customers,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. “This is the largest amount accepted by any company to date – and the opportunities that modern broadband will provide for the rural communities CenturyLink serves are priceless.” Below is the amount of annual support provided by the offer and number of homes and businesses served by state: State Number of homes and businesses reached Amount of Support by State (in dollars) CenturyLink Total 1,174,142 $505,702,762 AL 48,865 $17,290,009 AR 45,708 $19,761,508 AZ 23,758 $10,089,092 CO 53,139 $26,509,143 FL 32,273 $10,916,671 GA 777 $269,719 IA 34,827 $17,893,887 ID 12,367 $6,279,869 IL 3,651 $2,093,982 IN 30,052 $10,736,352 KS 29,018 $16,501,327 LA 24,324 $9,471,015 MI 25,230 $9,028,031 MN 114,739 $54,035,150 MO 158,311 $77,850,608 MT 33,638 $15,195,628 NC 36,159 $10,008,390 ND 8,044 $5,656,741 NE 10,899 $6,888,416 NJ 1,881 $450,340 NM 25,308 $10,942,747 NV 2,265 $1,072,346 OH 47,707 $15,982,805 OR 41,785 $17,759,903 PA 30,297 $10,562,353 SC 8,551 $2,952,228 SD 15,071 $9,117,215 TN 5,791 $1,662,828 TX 27,184 $11,300,418 UT 4,366 $1,894,801 VA 49,993 $15,731,765 WA 58,961 $24,412,884 WI 129,203 $55,384,589 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. 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. 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 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. ### 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).