FairPoint Communications (Nasdaq: FRP) is taking $3.3 million in Connect America Fund Phase I funding from the FCC in order to extend broadband services to 1,284 unserved locations and 4,211 locations that can only get access to low speed Internet connections.
Over $1.8 million of the funds, according to the service provider's filing, will be allocated to its Maine and New Hampshire operations.
The remaining money will be doled out to provide services in the other operations it has in the East, Midwest, and South regions of the United States.
FairPoint said in its filing that "it is not accepting funding for locations already served by Internet access with speeds of 768 Kbps/200 Kbps unless the carrier has already accepted funding for all projects or routes including locations unserved by 768 kbps/200 kbps that can be economically built with $775 in Connect America funding for each location unserved by 768 kbps/200 kbps plus an equal amount of carrier expenditure funding."
This latest round of funding follows its acceptance of $2 million from the CAF last July to provide broadband service to 53 Vermont towns that were deemed "unserved" or don't have any broadband access.
In related news, Alaska Communications Systems and Puerto Rico Telephone Company also accepted $173,800 and $31.6 million, respectively, in CAF Phase I funds.
For more:
- see FairPoint's filing (.pdf)
Related articles:
FairPoint gets $2M CAF grant to extend broadband service in Vermont
CenturyLink gets $35M in FCC CAF funding for broadband expansion
Frontier secures $72M Connect America loan to expand broadband reach
FairPoint gets $2M CAF grant to extend broadband service in Vermont
FCC opens $300M fund to boost rural broadband access