CAFII Auction Allocates $1.4B To Expand Rural Broadband

August 30, 2018

In the FCC’s Connect America Fund Phase II auction results released this week, 103 bidders won $1.49 billion over 10 years to provide fixed broadband and voice services to more than 700,000 locations in 45 states.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, “By tapping the mechanisms of the marketplace, the Phase II auction served as the most appropriate and cost-effective way to allocate funding for broadband in these unserved communities, bringing the highest-quality broadband services to the most consumers at the lowest cost to the ratepayer.”

Auction winners have the flexibility to use any technology, wireless and wireline, to meet the coverage requirements. 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 megabits per second, and 19 percent will have gigabit service available.

Keith Pennachio, EVP at SQUAN, told AGL eDigest, “The CAF II auction will enable the greater proliferation of broadband to underserved areas of the country. While there are many new names on the list of awardees, SQUAN is always pleased to see clients and partners receive funding for expansion to this great initiative. SQUAN provides design/build services in support of CAF II projects throughout the country and we look forward to building on this successful project.”

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 complete buildout is reach 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 4G LTE wireless coverage throughout rural America. On top of that, the Connect America Fund is in the midst of providing over $9 billion over a six-year period for rural broadband in areas served by large carriers.

On the following pages are the results of the Connect America Fund Phase II auction by state. A separate chart below lists winning bidders. More information is available at https://www.fcc.gov/auction/903. A map of winning bids is available at https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/caf2-auction903-results/