FCC authorizes $163M in Wisconsin over 10 years for expansion of rural broadband

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday authorities more than $163.1 million in support in Wisconsin over the next decade for maintaining, improving and expanding affordable broadband for 21,080 rural homes and businesses.

A news release from the FCC says the support is targeted to smaller rural carriers, known as “rate-of-return” carriers.  These carriers agreed this year to accept subsidies based on the FCC’s Alternative Connect America Cost Model, or A-CAM, which provides predictability, rewards efficiency, and provides more value for each taxpayer dollar.  The homes and businesses are in sparsely populated rural areas where the per-location price of deployment and ongoing costs of providing broadband service are high, requiring support from the FCC’s Universal Service Fund to facilitate network improvements and keep rates reasonably comparable to those in urban areas.

In return for the support that is being approved, carriers must maintain, improve, and expand broadband throughout their service areas, including providing service of at least 25 Megabits per second downstream and 3 Mbps upstream to over 363,000 locations nationwide, including more than 37,000 locations on Tribal lands.

Following is a list of Wisconsin counties where companies will receive support, with 10-year support amounts and the number of homes and businesses supported (locations):