WASHINGTON—The FCC has allocated $9.2 billion to roll out broadband in 49 States and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction. Auction results released today show that bidders won funding to deploy high-speed broadband to over 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses, almost 99 percent of the locations available in the auction. Moreover, 99.7 percent of these locations will be receiving broadband with speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps, with an overwhelming majority (over 85 percent) getting gigabit-speed broadband. CCO Holdings, LLC (Charter Communications) was assigned the most locations, just over 1.05 million. A total of 180 bidders won auction support, to be distributed over the next 10 years.
A broad range of providers successfully competed in the Phase I auction, including cable operators, electric cooperatives, incumbent telephone companies, satellite companies, and fixed wireless providers. And the FCC’s structuring of the reverse auction yielded significant savings, as competitive bidding among over 300 providers yielded an allocation of $9.2 billion in support out of the $16 billion set aside for Phase I of the auction. Importantly, the $6.8 billion in potential Phase I support that was not allocated will be rolled over into the future Phase II auction, which now can draw upon a budget of up to $11.2 billion in targeting partially-served areas (and the few unserved areas that did not receive funding through Phase I).
“I’m thrilled with the incredible success of this auction, which brings welcome news to millions of unconnected rural Americans who for too long have been on the wrong side of the digital divide. They now stand to gain access to high-speed, high-quality broadband service,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “We structured this innovative and groundbreaking auction to be technologically neutral and to prioritize bids for high-speed, low-latency offerings. We aimed for maximum leverage of taxpayer dollars and for networks that would meet consumers’ increasing broadband needs, and the results show that our strategy worked. This auction was the single largest step ever taken to bridge the digital divide and is another key success for the Commission in its ongoing commitment to universal service. I thank our staff for working so hard and so long to get this auction done on time, particularly during the pandemic.”
The auction used a multi-round, descending clock auction format in which bidders indicated in each round whether they would commit to provide service to an area at a given performance tier and latency at the current round’s support amount. The auction was technologically neutral and open to new providers, and bidding procedures prioritized bids for higher speeds and lower latency.
The auction unleashed robust price competition that resulted in more locations being awarded at less cost to Americans who pay into the Universal Service Fund. The 5,220,833 locations assigned support in the auction had an initial reserve price of over $26 billion over the next decade; through vigorous competition among bidders, the final price tag to cover these locations is now just over $9 billion, with the vast majority of locations receiving gigabit broadband—far above the 25/3 Mbps minimum level of service that providers could bid on in the auction.
Providers must meet periodic buildout requirements that will require them to reach all assigned locations by the end of the sixth year. They are incentivized to build out to all locations as fast as possible.
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction is part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America and focus limited universal service funds on unserved areas that most need support. In October 2020, the Commission adopted rules creating the 5G Fund for Rural America, which will distribute up to $9 billion over the next decade to bring 5G wireless broadband connectivity to unserved areas in rural America.
More information on the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction is available at https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904, including complete auction results and a map of winning bids.
The following are the results of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction by state and territory.
TOTAL 10-YEAR SUPPORT BY STATE AND TERRITORY
|
State / Territory |
Support |
Winning Bidders |
Locations Assigned |
|
Alabama |
$330,804,827.50 |
13 |
196,460 |
|
Arizona |
$195,847,668.40 |
7 |
129,445 |
|
Arkansas |
$424,243,217.60 |
15 |
200,612 |
|
California |
$695,158,129.10 |
15 |
364,878 |
|
Colorado |
$249,833,709.60 |
8 |
76,216 |
|
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands |
$3,706,235.00 |
1 |
530 |
|
Connecticut |
$4,210,411.00 |
2 |
2,899 |
|
Delaware |
$13,302,048.00 |
2 |
7,757 |
|
Florida |
$191,753,609.90 |
11 |
141,625 |
|
Georgia |
$326,454,112.20 |
15 |
179,455 |
|
Hawaii |
$24,740,782.00 |
2 |
8,081 |
|
Idaho |
$112,489,827.90 |
8 |
40,706 |
|
Illinois |
$378,310,110.70 |
19 |
159,967 |
|
Indiana |
$169,379,964.50 |
11 |
152,983 |
|
Iowa |
$143,892,544.40 |
11 |
53,819 |
|
Kansas |
$62,107,482.70 |
12 |
46,827 |
|
Kentucky |
$148,978,767.20 |
11 |
98,909 |
|
Louisiana |
$342,207,315.20 |
13 |
175,692 |
|
Maine |
$71,175,908.30 |
4 |
27,755 |
|
Maryland |
$48,023,869.10 |
5 |
37,761 |
|
Massachusetts |
$32,631,916.40 |
2 |
25,480 |
|
Michigan |
$362,985,055.60 |
13 |
249,263 |
|
Minnesota |
$408,150,745.60 |
22 |
142,841 |
|
Mississippi |
$495,725,799.60 |
12 |
218,990 |
|
Missouri |
$346,297,660.20 |
17 |
199,211 |
|
Montana |
$125,815,439.70 |
6 |
45,984 |
|
Nebraska |
$60,377,536.80 |
10 |
43,435 |
|
Nevada |
$63,536,610.90 |
5 |
30,584 |
|
New Hampshire |
$25,257,660.70 |
4 |
17,740 |
|
New Jersey |
$10,739,474.00 |
1 |
8,686 |
|
New Mexico |
$165,209,718.60 |
18 |
64,170 |
|
New York |
$99,891,715.70 |
10 |
46,647 |
|
North Carolina |
$166,580,441.70 |
9 |
155,137 |
|
North Dakota |
$20,824,521.40 |
8 |
2,780 |
|
Ohio |
$170,038,205.10 |
11 |
191,093 |
|
Oklahoma |
$154,556,450.80 |
13 |
126,153 |
|
Oregon |
$212,027,091.20 |
10 |
81,634 |
|
Pennsylvania |
$368,743,200.30 |
13 |
184,505 |
|
Rhode Island |
$1,273,784.00 |
1 |
3,678 |
|
South Carolina |
$121,245,987.00 |
9 |
108,833 |
|
South Dakota |
$52,285,517.00 |
6 |
10,051 |
|
Tennessee |
$148,625,826.20 |
11 |
155,220 |
|
Texas |
$362,662,934.10 |
22 |
310,962 |
|
Utah |
$31,384,525.70 |
3 |
10,373 |
|
Vermont |
$32,533,635.30 |
4 |
19,330 |
|
Virginia |
$238,644,933.90 |
16 |
186,475 |
|
Washington |
$222,768,532.70 |
9 |
100,422 |
|
West Virginia |
$362,066,660.20 |
9 |
119,267 |
|
Wisconsin |
$373,715,051.20 |
14 |
240,546 |
|
Wyoming |
$57,471,543.00 |
11 |
18,966 |
WINNING BIDDERS
|
Bidder |
Assigned Support |
Locations Assigned |
Number of States |
|
4-Corners Consortium |
$2,598,030.00 |
635 |
1 |
|
AB Indiana LLC |
$668,304.10 |
261 |
1 |
|
ACT |
$1,622,136.00 |
925 |
1 |
|
Albion Telephone Company, Inc. |
$599,795.70 |
141 |
1 |
|
All West Communications, Inc. |
$46,648.00 |
218 |
1 |
|
Allen's T.V. Cable Service, Inc. |
$371,348.10 |
620 |
1 |
|
Altice USA, Inc. |
$849,880.00 |
5,220 |
6 |
|
American Heartland |
$1,821,520.00 |
1,549 |
1 |
|
AMG Technology Investment Group LLC |
$429,228,072.90 |
206,136 |
12 |
|
Aptitude Internet LLC |
$24,655,295.20 |
13,535 |
1 |
|
Armstrong Telephone Company - Northern Division |
$22,009,640.50 |
10,495 |
3 |
|
Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
$18,462,273.10 |
4,879 |
1 |
|
Atlantic Broadband Finance, LLC |
$5,407,684.70 |
3,876 |
1 |
|
Baldwin Telecom, Inc. |
$11,370.00 |
15 |
1 |
|
Bandera Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
$1,689,601.50 |
534 |
1 |
|
Baraga Telephone Company |
$444,490.80 |
164 |
1 |
|
Barry Technology Services, LLC |
$14,502.00 |
26 |
1 |
|
Bay Springs Telephone Company, Inc. |
$41,871,850.10 |
22,011 |
3 |
|
BEK Communications Cooperative |
$2,157,719.00 |
337 |
1 |
|
Blackfoot Telephone Cooperative, Inc. |
$12,703,077.60 |
2,687 |
1 |
|
Bloosurf, LLC |
$1,860.50 |
17 |
2 |
|
Bruce Telephone Company, Inc. |
$113,745.00 |
32 |
1 |
|
Cal.net, Inc. |
$29,169,982.60 |
44,153 |
1 |
|
California Internet, L.P. dba GeoLinks |
$234,889,665.70 |
128,297 |
3 |
|
Carolina West Wireless, Inc. |
$460.00 |
28 |
1 |
|
CCO Holdings, LLC (Charter Communications) |
$1,222,613,870.10 |
1,057,695 |
24 |
|
Cellular Services LLC. |
$3,294,968.60 |
2,142 |
1 |
|
Central Arkansas Telephone Cooperative, Inc. |
$1,629,930.50 |
1,004 |
1 |
|
Centre WISP Venture Company, LLC |
$11,086,348.40 |
6,607 |
1 |
|
CenturyLink, Inc. |
$262,367,614.20 |
77,257 |
20 |
|
Chariton Valley Communications Corporation |
$8,070,272.00 |
5,002 |
1 |
|
Cherry Capital Connection, LLC |
$5,620,840.40 |
2,791 |
1 |
|
Cincinnati Bell Inc. |
$26,887,580.40 |
11,131 |
4 |
|
Citizens Vermont Acquisition Corporation |
$373,680.00 |
316 |
1 |
|
City of Farmington |
$3,179,884.50 |
1,106 |
1 |
|
Citynet West Virginia, LLC |
$53,516,858.30 |
13,460 |
1 |
|
Coleman County Telephone Cooperative, Inc. |
$3,142.80 |
11 |
1 |
|
Comcell Inc. |
$4,644.00 |
8 |
1 |
|
Commnet Wireless, LLC |
$28,436,936.10 |
19,028 |
10 |
|
Computer 5, Inc. d/b/a LocalTel Communications |
$48,818,171.30 |
12,530 |
1 |
|
Computer Techniques, Inc. dba CTI Fiber |
$8,509.00 |
12 |
1 |
|
Connect Everyone LLC |
$268,851,315.90 |
108,506 |
9 |
|
Connecting Rural America |
$14,180,599.00 |
5,076 |
4 |
|
Consolidated Communications, Inc. |
$58,873,337.50 |
27,021 |
7 |
|
Consortium 2020 |
$48,918,960.90 |
68,092 |
2 |
|
Consortium 904 |
$40,470.00 |
120 |
1 |
|
Consortium of AEG and Heron Broadband I |
$194,378,552.00 |
49,599 |
2 |
|
Continental Divide Electric Cooperative |
$38,004,786.20 |
8,485 |
1 |
|
Co-op Connections Consortium |
$61,485,589.50 |
26,909 |
8 |
|
Corn Belt Telephone |
$42,237.00 |
38 |
1 |
|
Cox Communications, Inc. |
$6,636,520.50 |
8,212 |
9 |
|
Custer Telephone Cooperative, Inc. |
$1,954,488.00 |
313 |
1 |
|
Daktel Communications, LLC |
$531,894.00 |
66 |
1 |
|
Daviess-Martin County Rural Telephone Corporation |
$3,565,039.40 |
1,371 |
1 |
|
Digital Connections Inc. dba PRODIGI |
$8,583,001.40 |
4,771 |
1 |
|
Direct Communications Rockland, Inc. |
$15,745,252.70 |
2,120 |
1 |
|
DoCoMo Pacific, Inc. |
$3,706,235.00 |
530 |
1 |
|
DTC Cable, Inc. |
$834,597.00 |
481 |
1 |
|
Easton Utilities Commission |
$189,047.60 |
909 |
1 |
|
Emery Telephone dba Emery Telcom |
$9,822,853.00 |
1,602 |
1 |
|
Enduring Internet |
$65,690.00 |
392 |
2 |
|
Etheric Communications LLC |
$248,634,963.10 |
64,463 |
1 |
|
Farmers Mutual Cooperative Telephone Company |
$12,447.00 |
25 |
1 |
|
Farmers Mutual Telephone Company |
$759,822.00 |
332 |
1 |
|
Federated Telephone Cooperative |
$537,399.00 |
248 |
1 |
|
FiberLight, LLC |
$1,772,705.80 |
4,665 |
3 |
|
Fond du Lac Communications Inc. |
$1,046,123.00 |
728 |
1 |
|
Frontier Communications Corporation, DIP |
$370,900,832.80 |
127,188 |
8 |
|
Frontier Communications Northwest, LLC |
$57,202,650.80 |
21,336 |
4 |
|
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association |
$63,903.00 |
24 |
1 |
|
GigaBeam Networks, LLC |
$28,067,881.20 |
9,072 |
2 |
|
Grain Communications Opportunity Fund II, L.P. |
$19,172,673.60 |
5,887 |
3 |
|
Great Plains Consortium |
$3,427,873.30 |
1,879 |
3 |
|
H&B Communication’s, Inc. |
$11,301.60 |
47 |
1 |
|
Halstad Telephone Company |
$12,141,118.40 |
1,820 |
2 |
|
Hamilton County Telephone Co-op |
$7,796,825.30 |
2,351 |
1 |
|
Hamilton Long Distance Company |
$128,560.30 |
167 |
1 |
|
Hankins Information Technology |
$2,171,844.50 |
3,727 |
1 |
|
Hawaii Dialogix Telecom LLC |
$6,009,953.00 |
1,395 |
3 |
|
Heart of the Catskills Comm. Inc., dba MTC Cable |
$398,574.00 |
188 |
1 |
|
Home Communications, Inc. |
$15,540.00 |
54 |
1 |
|
HomeTown Broadband, Inc. |
$1,424,229.00 |
1,295 |
1 |
|
Horizon Communications, Inc. |
$2,033,292.00 |
609 |
1 |
|
Horry Telephone Cooperative, Inc. |
$729,554.50 |
2,267 |
1 |
|
Hotwire Communications, Ltd |
$5,150,040.00 |
3,233 |
1 |
|
Hughes Network Systems, LLC |
$1,273,784.00 |
3,678 |
1 |
|
IdeaTek Telcom, LLC |
$23,590.60 |
89 |
1 |
|
KanOkla Telephone Association |
$26,538.00 |
90 |
2 |
|
Lakeland Communications Group, LLC |
$408,952.00 |
550 |
1 |
|
LICT Corporation |
$1,675,826.80 |
635 |
3 |
|
LigTel Communications, Inc. |
$385,924.00 |
416 |
1 |
|
LR Communications, Inc. |
$13,974.00 |
24 |
1 |
|
LTD Broadband LLC |
$1,320,920,718.60 |
528,088 |
15 |
|
MARQUETTE-ADAMS TELEPHONE COOPERATIVE, INC. |
$55,378.00 |
66 |
1 |
|
MCC Network Services, LLC |
$36,204.00 |
72 |
1 |
|
Mediacom Communications Corporation |
$2,254,655.00 |
9,752 |
4 |
|
MEI Telecom, Inc. |
$479,789.10 |
175 |
1 |
|
Mercury Wireless, Inc. |
$68,310,842.00 |
167,684 |
6 |
|
Micrologic Inc. |
$10,036,047.70 |
2,076 |
1 |
|
Midcontinent Communications |
$4,960,473.00 |
6,506 |
3 |
|
Miles Communications LLC |
$316,641.00 |
106 |
1 |
|
Minnesota Connections c/o Consolidated Tel Company |
$2,040,278.70 |
979 |
1 |
|
Mountain View Telephone Company |
$298,572.00 |
43 |
1 |
|
Mountain West Technologies Corporation |
$141,801.20 |
690 |
1 |
|
NBVDS Investment, L.L.C. |
$1,655,443.40 |
2,387 |
1 |
|
Net Ops Communications, LLC |
$69,676.40 |
1,586 |
1 |
|
Newport Utilities |
$159,492.00 |
59 |
1 |
|
NexTier Consortium |
$126,287,693.30 |
80,609 |
14 |
|
NMSURF, Inc. |
$26,964.00 |
212 |
1 |
|
Northeast Missouri Rural Telephone Company |
$60,126.00 |
7 |
1 |
|
Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries |
$7,799,035.00 |
2,408 |
1 |
|
Nova Cablevision, Inc. |
$785,400.00 |
155 |
1 |
|
NRTC Phase I RDOF Consortium |
$156,714,678.20 |
125,335 |
14 |
|
NTS Communications, LLC |
$8,923.00 |
13 |
1 |
|
One Ring Networks, Inc. |
$137,715.00 |
2,061 |
3 |
|
Palmetto Telephone Communications, LLC |
$570,024.00 |
264 |
1 |
|
Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative |
$16,307,892.10 |
5,088 |
1 |
|
Pembroke Telephone Company, Inc. |
$1,053,063.00 |
601 |
1 |
|
Peoples Communication, LLC. |
$4,140.00 |
4 |
1 |
|
Peoples Telecom, LLC |
$5,668,121.40 |
2,431 |
1 |
|
Pine Belt Communications, Inc. |
$11,126,003.10 |
4,220 |
1 |
|
Pine Cellular Phones, Inc. |
$2,303,742.10 |
2,459 |
1 |
|
Pinpoint Bidding Coalition |
$31,254.00 |
32 |
1 |
|
Pioneer Long Distance, Inc. |
$50,994.00 |
1,346 |
1 |
|
Pioneer Wireless, Inc |
$5,543,142.00 |
1,638 |
1 |
|
Plains Internet, LLC |
$345,624.00 |
250 |
3 |
|
Plateau Telecommunications, Inc. |
$3,150.00 |
2 |
1 |
|
Point Broadband Fiber Holding, LLC |
$78,414,413.10 |
34,472 |
5 |
|
Prospero Broadband Consortium |
$100,366,008.80 |
61,799 |
3 |
|
PVT NetWorks, Inc. |
$12,039.00 |
38 |
1 |
|
QCOL, Inc. |
$235,146.00 |
88 |
1 |
|
RC Technologies |
$263,796.00 |
118 |
1 |
|
RDOF USA Consortium |
$112,044,022.70 |
63,830 |
5 |
|
Redzone Wireless, LLC |
$507,752.00 |
755 |
1 |
|
Reedsburg Utility Commission |
$6,439,594.10 |
4,488 |
1 |
|
Reservation Telephone Cooperative |
$337,080.00 |
73 |
1 |
|
Resound Networks, LLC |
$310,681,608.90 |
219,239 |
7 |
|
RHMD, LLC |
$18,303,843.20 |
6,943 |
1 |
|
Rivers High Group |
$3,540,398.10 |
1,315 |
1 |
|
Roseau Electric Cooperative, Inc. |
$1,228,494.00 |
266 |
1 |
|
Rural American Broadband Consortium |
$8,471,858.10 |
3,671 |
6 |
|
Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium |
$1,104,395,953.00 |
618,476 |
22 |
|
Safelink Internet LLC |
$1,197,661.50 |
2,728 |
1 |
|
Sandhill Telephone Cooperative, Inc. |
$6,396.00 |
1 |
1 |
|
Savage Communications |
$6,090,479.10 |
4,541 |
1 |
|
Scott County Telephone Cooperative, Inc. |
$755,841.60 |
2,406 |
2 |
|
Segnem Egere Consortium |
$152,854,440.70 |
57,387 |
3 |
|
Shenandoah Cable Television, LLC |
$5,059,616.50 |
8,642 |
2 |
|
Siuslaw Broadband, LLC dba Hyak Technologies |
$1,611,684.90 |
554 |
1 |
|
Skywave Wireless, Inc. |
$57,660.00 |
12 |
1 |
|
SLIC Network Solutions, Inc. |
$978,722.00 |
3,660 |
1 |
|
Socket Telecom, LLC |
$232,768.80 |
393 |
1 |
|
Somerset Telephone Co., Inc. |
$669,564.00 |
1,208 |
1 |
|
South Arkansas Telephone Company |
$11,387,245.50 |
5,093 |
1 |
|
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. |
$885,509,638.40 |
642,925 |
35 |
|
St Paul Cooperative Telephone Association |
$190,908.00 |
39 |
1 |
|
St. John Telco |
$7,116,876.00 |
1,057 |
1 |
|
Talkie Communications, Inc. |
$57,065,010.20 |
39,098 |
2 |
|
Taylor Telephone Coop., Inc. dba Taylor Telecom |
$5,466.00 |
2 |
1 |
|
Tennessee Cooperative Group Consortium |
$5,981,516.90 |
7,625 |
3 |
|
Terral Telephone Company |
$716,381.20 |
2,299 |
1 |
|
TruVista Communications, Inc. |
$2,059,050.80 |
2,778 |
1 |
|
Unified Communications Inc. |
$1,604.00 |
17 |
1 |
|
Union Telephone Company |
$1,264,770.00 |
157 |
1 |
|
Visionary Communications, Inc. |
$4,450,264.40 |
4,184 |
2 |
|
W. T. Services, Inc. |
$8,785.70 |
177 |
1 |
|
WC Fiber, LLC |
$98,189.50 |
945 |
1 |
|
Wikstrom Telephone Company |
$983,637.00 |
228 |
1 |
|
Wildstar |
$1,790.00 |
21 |
1 |
|
Wilkes Telephone Membership Corporation |
$46,055,343.40 |
39,870 |
2 |
|
Windstream Services LLC, Debtor-In-Possession |
$522,888,779.80 |
192,567 |
18 |
|
Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association |
$104,637.80 |
248 |
2 |
|
Wisper-CABO 904 Consortium |
$4,974,442.30 |
3,453 |
13 |
|
Wood County Telephone Company d/b/a Solarus |
$28,848.00 |
15 |
1 |
|
Worldwide Technologies, Inc. |
$700,874.20 |
496 |
1 |
|
WTC Communications, Inc. |
$40,845.20 |
174 |
1 |
|
XIT Telecommunication & Technology |
$43,254.50 |
464 |
1 |
|
yondoo Broadband LLC |
$54,833.80 |
110 |
1 |
|
Yucca Telecommunications Systems, Inc. |
$26,221.00 |
19 |
1 |
|
Zito West Holding, LLC |
$457,596.00 |
279 |
1 |
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