Windstream Communications Inc., part of publicly traded Windstream Holdings Inc. of Little Rock, will receive about $13.2 million in annual payments from the Federal Communications Commission’s Connect America Fund to expand and support broadband in rural Arkansas.
The FCC said the money will help the telecommunications firm to deliver broadband of at least 10 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps uploads to more than 32,000 homes and businesses in parts of Arkansas where it might otherwise be cost-prohibitive.
In all, the company will be able to serve more than 64,000 rural Arkansas customers with broadband service, the FCC said. Nationwide, Windstream is taking nearly $175 million in annual payments from Connect America to support broadband for more than 800,000 rural customers in 17 states.
The FCC’s latest Broadband Progress Report says nearly one-third of rural Americans lack access to broadband, compared to only one in 100 urban Americans. The FCC said its Connect America Fund is designed to close that divide.
Other carriers are receiving FCC money, including Frontier Communications Inc. of Norwalk, Connecticut. Carriers that do must build out broadband to 40 percent of funded locations by the end 2017, 60 percent by end of 2018, and 100 percent by the end of 2020.
“Windstream’s decision to accept support from the Connect America Fund will greatly benefit its rural customers by expanding robust broadband in their communities,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a news release. “The Connect America Fund is delivering on its promise of ensuring that all Americans have access to the opportunities provided by modern broadband service, no matter where they live.”
Windstream is expected to use the money in 40 Arkansas counties, although the FCC said the company will have the flexibility to shift deployment if necessary.
Among the counties expected to get the biggest investment from Windstream:
- Searcy County — $1.3 million, serving 2,347 homes and businesses
- Montgomery County — $1 million, serving 2,404
- Faulkner County — $1 million, serving 3,406
- Carroll County — $1 million, serving 2,337
- Pike County — $867,000, serving 1,955
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