U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that New York state may need to give back over $170 million in CAF-II funding to the FCC, which would allocate the returned funds to other states.
New York was awarded $49 million annually under the CAF-II program.
Since the state's main telco, Verizon did not accept its $28 million share of the program, Schumer said that the FCC wants to make the money available to other states that need to upgrade their last mile network infrastructure.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) was eligible to get $144 million in total CAF-II funding for all of the states where it provides wireline services.
Schumer has asked the FCC to develop a partnership with the state to find another way to use the funds.
For more:
- Washington Times has this article
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