Media Contact: 
Anne Veigle, (202) 418-0506
anne.veigle@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC AUTHORIZES OVER $5.2 MILLION FOR BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT TO RURAL AREAS IN MISSISSIPPI
Will Provide Broadband Access to 13,819 Unserved Rural Locations
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WASHINGTON, September 2, 2020—The Federal Communications Commission today authorized $5,206,701 in funding over ten years for Viasat Carrier Services, Inc., to deploy broadband to 13,819 rural homes and businesses in Mississippi.  The funding represents the 15th wave of support from the successful 2018 Connect America Fund Phase II auction.    Viasat must use this funding to provide service with a minimum speed of 25/3 Mbps.  
 
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.  Today’s action brings total authorized funding to $1,476,554,824, which is expanding connectivity to 702,745 homes and businesses nationwide.  Funding rounds will continue until the authorization process is complete. 

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 Connect America Fund Phase II Auction is part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America.  A map of winning bids in the Auction is available at https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/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).