In its fifth and largest RDOF (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund) funding round to date, the FCC announced that it is ready to authorize over $1 billion of funding for 69 broadband service providers serving 518,088 locations in 32 states. These applicants are subject to deployment milestones where 40% of the required number of locations in a state by the end of the third year of support and an additional 20% by the end of the fourth and fifth years of support.
Today’s announcement brings us over 250 applicants totaling nearly $3 billion or 30% of total RDOF Phase 1 winnings. Although this is a considerable sum of money, it is trailing the CAF (Connect America Fund) II auction authorization timeline by over 2 months – based on percentages. Many of the RDOF winners still waiting notification include traditional wireless internet access providers, such as LTD, AMG, Resound, and Geolinks. To see the latest summary of results, the FCC posts its Ready to Authorize Auction 904 Long-Form Applicants tracker.