AT&T, CenturyLink to Expand Broadband to Rural America Through Subsidies

High-speed Internet access brings many benefits to rural communities, including economic development and better access to education and healthcare services such as distance learning and telemedicine.

Hoping to boost broadband deployment in rural parts of the country, the Federal Communications Commission is paying $9 billion to 10 Internet service providers that have promised to build out their networks.

Ten carriers have accepted Dollars 1.5 billion in annual support for rural broadband deployment, which, together with the carrier’s own investment, will expand broadband to almost 7.3 million rural consumers in 45 states nationwide and one US territory over the next few years.

“AT&T is committed to rural and small town America, and using all available technologies, including AT&T’s innovative fixed wireless program that delivers broadband through the air using base stations and fixed antennae on customers’ homes or buildings”, she explained.

AT&T will get $26.1 million to add broadband service for 81,173 households in Tennessee; $25.3 million to add broadband service for 67,402 households in Georgia, and $23.2 million to add broadband service for 66,766 homes in Alabama.

“Today we are taking a significant step forward in narrowing the rural-urban digital divide”, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a statement. That number goes up to 60% a year later, 80% by the end of 2019 and 100% by the end of 2020. “This is the largest amount accepted by any company to date – and the opportunities that modern broadband will provide for the rural communities CenturyLink serves are priceless”.

CenturyLink said it declined CAF II statewide offers for California, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

The others include Cincinnati Bell, Consolidated Telecom, Fairpoint, Frontier, Hawaiian Telcom, Micronesian Telecom, and Windstream.

CenturyLink previously accepted approximately $75 million in CAF phase I interim, one-time support to bring broadband with 4 Mbps download speed to almost 114,000 unserved rural locations.