Windstream Takes $75M Connect America Offer To Expand Rural Broadband

Media Contact:

Mark Wigfield, (202) 418-0253

mark.wigfield@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

Windstream Communications Accepts Nearly $175 Million in Annual Support from

Connect America Fund to Expand and Support Broadband for Over 800,000 Rural

Americans

Washington, D.C. (Aug. 5, 2015) - Windstream Communications Inc. has accepted $174,895,478

in annual, ongoing support from the Connect America Fund to expand and support broadband for

over 800,000 of its rural customers in 17 states.

The Connect America Fund support will enable Windstream to deliver broadband at speeds of at

least 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to over 404,000 homes and businesses in its

rural service areas nationwide where the cost of broadband deployment might otherwise be

prohibitive.

Windstream's decision to accept support from the Connect America Fund will greatly benefit its

rural customers by expanding robust broadband in their communities, said FCC Chairman Tom

Wheeler. The Connect America Fund is delivering on its promise of ensuring that all Americans

have access to the opportunities provided by modern broadband service, no matter where they

live.

Below is a state-by-state list of the amount of annual support provided and number of homes and

businesses served:

CAFII - Final Adopted Model

for Offer of Model - Based

Support to Price Cap Carriers

Homes and Businesses

- CAM 4.3

Supported

Support Amount by State

Windstream Total

404,625

$ 174,895,478

AL

1,889

$ 511,038

AR

32,312

$ 13,163,783

FL

17,891

$ 5,236,626

GA

64,721

$ 24,867,807

IA

44,930

$ 28,672,554

KY

62,070

$ 21,576,987

MN

4,440

$ 1,519,855

MO

27,509

$ 14,187,910

MS

2,760

$ 917,403

NC

6,988

$ 1,952,082

NE

21,560

$ 13,591,437

NY

5,210

$ 1,557,976

OH

13,073

$ 4,154,270

OK

16,741

$ 7,788,213

PA

34,807

$ 13,001,364

SC

3,144

$ 935,383

TX

44,580

$ 21,260,790

Like telephone service in the 20th Century, broadband has become essential to life in the 21st

Century. But, according to the FCC's latest Broadband Progress Report, nearly one in three rural

Americans lack access to 10/1 broadband, compared to only one in 100 urban Americans. The

Connect America Fund is designed to close that rural-urban digital divide.

The FCC's traditional universal service program succeeded in ensuring telephone network

coverage in rural America by providing subsidies where the cost of service would otherwise be

prohibitive. In late 2011, the FCC modernized the program to support networks capable of

providing broadband and voice services, and created the Connect America Fund to efficiently and

effectively administer that support to expand broadband in rural areas where market forces alone

can't support expansion.

Since then, Phase I of Connect America has provided $438 million, including over $87.3 million

to Windstream, to expand broadband to nearly 1.7 million people in over 637,000 rural homes

and businesses in 45 states and Puerto Rico, Over the next six years, Phase II of Connect America

will provide more than $10 billion to expand broadband-capable networks throughout rural

America nationwide, all without increasing the cost of the program to ratepayers.

In addition to Windstream, Frontier Communications Inc. has also accepted Phase II funding,

which will expand service to 1.3 million Frontier customers in 28 states. Overall, the FCC's

Universal Service Fund allocates $4.5 billion annually through various universal service

programs for high-cost areas to support voice- and broadband-capable networks in rural America.

Carriers receiving Connect America Fund support must build out broadband to 40% of funded

locations by the end 2017, 60% by end of 2018, and 100% by the end of 2020.

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LINK:	http://www.fcc.gov/document/windstream-takes-175m-connect-america-offe...
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