Media Contact: 
Anne Veigle, (202) 418-0500
anne.veigle@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC AUTHORIZES OVER $7.5 MILLION 
FOR RURAL BROADBAND PROJECTS
Connect America Fund Support Will Expand Broadband Deployment in 7 States
  -- 
WASHINGTON, May 14, 2020—The Federal Communications Commission today authorized over $7.5 million in funding over ten years to expand rural broadband in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, and Oklahoma.  These investments will connect over 3,100 unserved rural homes and businesses.  Providers will begin receiving the funds later this month. 

“Today’s announcement of over $7.5 million in rural broadband funding for seven states continues the important work the FCC is doing to close the digital divide, as we work to ensure all Americans are able to access online resources for work, education, and healthcare,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.  “The FCC’s Connect America Fund is delivering real value at a critical time for our nation, particularly to those living in unconnected rural areas.”

The funding represents the 12th wave of support from the successful 2018 Connect America Fund Phase II auction.  Providers must build out to 40% of the assigned homes and businesses in the areas won in a state within three years.  Buildout must increase by 20% in each subsequent year, until complete buildout is reached at the end of the sixth year.  The funding being authorized in New York is the fourth wave of matching funds provided through the FCC’s partnership with the state’s New NY Broadband Program.


State
Company              
Minimum Speed
Support/10 Years
Locations
Arizona
Gila Local Exchange Carrier, Inc.
1 Gbps/500 Mbps; 100/20 Mbps
$104,499
29
Colorado
NE Colorado Cellular, Inc.
25/3 Mbps
$2,769,082.50
731
Illinois
Aristotle Unified Communications
25/3 Mbps
$147,196.40
72
Missouri
Mark Twain Communications Company
25/3 Mbps
$3,053,366.20
676
Nebraska
NE Colorado Cellular, Inc.
25/3 Mbps
$240,989
56
New York
Mid-Hudson Data Corp.
100/20 Mbps
$640,296
459
Oklahoma
Cherokee Telephone Company
25/3 Mbps
$594,975
1,166


In total, the Connect America Fund Phase II Auction in 2018 allocated $1.488 billion in support over the next ten years to expand broadband to more than 700,000 unserved rural homes and small businesses in 45 states.  The FCC has now authorized twelve waves of funding, and today’s action brings total authorized funding to over $1.444 billion, which is expanding connectivity to 632,420 homes and businesses nationwide.  Funding rounds will continue until the authorization process is complete.  

The Connect America Fund Phase II Auction is part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America.  In January, the FCC took its biggest single step to date toward closing the rural digital divide by establishing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which will direct up to $20.4 billion to expand broadband in unserved rural areas.  A map of winning bids in the Auction is available at https://www.fcc.gov/reportsresearch/maps/caf2-auction903-results/. 

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Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / TTY: (888) 835-5322 / Twitter: @FCC / www.fcc.gov 

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).