The FCC has awarded nearly USD 1.5 billion in grants to help bring faster broadband to over 700,000 rural homes and small businesses in the US. This follows the results of the Connect America Fund Phase II auction. More than half of those 713,176 locations will receive download speeds of at least 100 Mbps, the agency said.
The money will be distributed over the next 10 years in unserved areas in 45 states. A total of 103 providers won support from the Connect America Fund, which targets rural areas where this type of broadband expansion and ongoing service would not be economically feasible. Winners included large operators such as Verizon and Frontier, as well as many local ISPs and cooperatives set up to serve rural areas and local communities.
Providers can use any type of technology to meet the the FCC’s build-out and performance standards for fixed service. The auction design included a weighted preference for service with higher speeds, higher usage allowances, and lower latency.
As a result, 53 percent of all homes and businesses served with support from the auction will have broadband available with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps, and 19 percent will even receive gigabit service. All but 0.25 percent will have at least 25 Mbps service available, more than twice the 10 Mbps minimum standard for the Connect America Fund programme, the FCC said.
Providers must build out to 40 percent of the assigned homes and businesses in a state within three years of becoming authorized to receive support. Buildout must increase by 20 percent in each subsequent year, until completed at the end of the sixth year.
In addition to the funding that will provided by this auction, the Commission is working toward the launch of a $4.53 billion Mobility Fund Phase II auction to expand LTE coverage throughout rural America.
