As part of theConnect America Fund Phase II grantsin 2015 , the FCC award CenturyLink and Frontier a compound amount of $ 789.1 million in federal funds to expand broadband services to rural Americans . Dec. 31 was the deadline for CenturyLink to roll out 10Mbps/1Mbps broadband to 1.17 million homes and business enterprise in 33 State , while Frontier need to expand its broadband services to 659,587 rest home and line of work in 28 states . Both companies have fail , again , to meet their wideband deployment deadline .
As describe byArs Technica , CenturyLink and Frontier still have one twelvemonth to finish their respective rollouts , harmonise to the FCC ’s grant stipulations . If the ISPs fail again , the Universal Service Administrative Co. ( USAC ) , which is regulate by the FCC , take the money back — plus interest . essentially , if CenturyLink or Frontier do n’t complete the rollout by the end of 2021 , then the government is going to take back more money than what it gave to either of those companies to roll out broadband in region that stay unserved .
Frontier tell in itsfilingthat the company was unable to complete its rollout in meter because it was impacted by the covid-19 pandemic . The filing say that deployment has n’t been nail in Alabama , Arizona , California , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Michigan , Minnesota , Nebraska , Nevada , New Mexico , New York , Ohio , Texas , Utah , Wisconsin , and West Virginia .
Photo: Karen Bleier/AFP (Getty Images)
“ structure progress was somewhat impacted by the unprecedented challenges to rural broadband construction stimulate by the covid-19 pandemic . Specifically , although Frontier employee and structure crews continued their work to deploy broadband to unserved areas as quickly as potential throughout the pandemic , statewide shutdowns , local government lockdown , curfew , state office closures , and hotel and job closures presented extraordinary obstacle to reach year - final stage deployment goals . ”
CenturyLink noted in its FCC filingthat it run out to fill its broadband deployment quota in Arkansas , Arizona , Colorado , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Louisiana , Michigan , Minnesota , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , New Mexico , North Dakota , Ohio , Oregon , South Dakota , Utah , Virginia , Washington , and Wisconsin . The companionship did not give a reason why .
Both company also fail to see their deployment obligation last year , andFrontier filed for Chapter 11 failure . Both party were also awarded a second cycle of rural broadband concede money from theFCC ’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase 1 auctionlast month . CenturyLink was awarded $ 262.4 million , and Frontier $ 370.9 million spread out over the next 10 year .
So even if both companies fail to adjoin the original duty of their 2015 grant and have to give money back to the government , the government is still going to give them more money to keep undulate out broadband rural America . Not much of a punishment .
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