FCC's Connect America Fund To Expand Broadband to Nearly 400,000 Rural Homes and Businesses In 41 States

Over $255 million in funding to provide new broadband access to over 400,000 homes and businesses in rural areas of 41 states has been authorized from the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund, connecting nearly 1 million people who lack service.

The Connect America Fund is part of the FCC’s initiative to bring broadband access to rural communities. The $255,723,850 authorized today represents a jump-start to bring broadband to these areas. It brings the total authorized from the first phase of the Connect America Fund to nearly $403 million. Five carriers will use the funds in rural portions of their service areas where, absent support from the Connect America Fund, broadband expansion was unlikely. The carriers are AT&T, CenturyLink, Fairpoint Communications, Frontier Communications, and Windstream.