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:
State
Homes & 
Businesses 
Served
Support 
Amount in 
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:
Price Cap Carrier
Homes & Businesses 
Served
Support Amount in 
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.
###
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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).