Infrastructure

When companies try to expand broadband into hard-to-reach and far-apart locations, they have to make huge capital expenditures in technology and infrastructure, which sometimes can run for hundreds of miles or more. While federal funding is supposed to ease this burden, a lot of the money goes toward something Congress never anticipated and taxpayers often overlook: replacing utility poles. Members of Congress may be shocked to learn that enormous chunks of private and government broadband funding are not spent on fiber optic cable, but rather on poles in rural areas.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing nearly $8 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in West Virginia. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program. Citynet, LLC will use a $7.6 million ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network, which will connect 6,054 people, 58 farms, 41 businesses, three fire stations, two public schools and two post offices to high-speed broadband internet in Barbour, Randolph, Webster and Doddridge counties in West Virginia.

The Public Infrastructure/Private Service model puts the locality in the business of building infrastructure, a business cities and counties know well after a century of building roads, bridges, and utilities. The model leaves to the private sector most aspects of network operations, equipment provisioning, and service delivery. The Public Infrastructure/Private Service model leverages the best capabilities of the public and private sectors.

The US Department of Agriculture is investing over $165 million to provide broadband service in 9 states as part of the second round of the ReConnect program. 

• Emery Telecommunications & Video Inc. will use a $6.3 million ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 1,638 people, 91 farms, 52 businesses, three fire stations, and two post offices to high-speed broadband internet in Dolores, San Miguel, and Montezuma counties in Colorado.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that 386 applicants are qualified to bid in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction. The FCC's Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Office of Economics and Analytics, and Wireline Competition Bureau identified the qualified applicants and provided educational materials for participating in the auction. The number of qualified bidders represents a more than 75% increase in the number of bidders in 2018’s successful Connect America Fund Phase II auction and also includes bidding consortia that contain multiple service providers.

Gov Laura Kelly (D-KS) announced that 49 million dollars is being sent out to Kansas communities to provide or improve access to the internet. As the coronavirus crisis has highlighted the need for better internet access across the state, government officials are hoping the expansion project will help more Kansans get connected. The money is part of more than $1 billion in CARES Act funding that state leaders had to decide how to spend. There are 67 projects. One is $5.9 million to help a group of underserved cities in Southwest Kansas, including Plains, Fowler, and Meade.

The Federal Communications Commission announced the final list of areas that will be eligible for bidding in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, which will target up to $16 billion to census blocks with no fixed broadband service meeting the Commission’s minimum standards. In total, about 5.3 million unserved homes and businesses are located in areas eligible for bidding in the Phase I auction, which will begin on October 29. The auction will prioritize bids for the deployment of broadband networks providing higher speeds up to 1 Gbps and lower latency.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $3 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Wisconsin. This investment is part of the $550 million Congress allocated to the second round of the ReConnect Program. Ntera, LLC will use a $3 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 2,044 people, 33 farms and 33 businesses to high-speed broadband internet in Chippewa, Rusk, and Taylor counties in Wisconsin.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $1 million to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Indiana. Tipmont Rural Electric Membership Corporation will use a $1 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 279 people, 10 businesses and 16 farms to high-speed broadband internet in Indiana’s Fountain County.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $11.8 million in grants to provide broadband service in unserved and underserved rural areas in Arkansas. Mountain View Telephone Company (MVTC) will use a $2.9 million ReConnect grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 1,331 people, 39 farms, six businesses, two fire stations, and one post office to high-speed broadband internet in Stone County, Arkansas.