FCC announces $311 million for rural broadband efforts

The FCC recently announced more than $311 million in broadband funding through the Rural Digital opportunity fund. The FCC is ready to authorize the funding across 36 states and took steps to clear up issues with the program’s design originating from its adoption in 2020. As a result of the announcement, 48 broadband providers will bring one gigabit per second broadband speeds to nearly 200,000 homes and businesses over the next ten years and is the first funding approved through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. At the same time, the FCC also took steps to clean up the program. In light of complaints that the program was poised to fund broadband to parking lots and well-served urban areas, the FCC sent letters to 197 winning bidders. The letters offer providers an opportunity to withdraw their funding requests from those places already with service or where significant questions of waste have been raised.