Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction Concludes

Taking the single largest step so far to bridge the digital divide, the FCC announced that bidding in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction closed on November 25, 2020.  A total of 180 winning bidders won funding to deploy high-speed broadband to over 5.2 million unserved homes and businesses, many of which will receive broadband with speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps, in 49 states and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  

The auction appears to have been competitive since, of the $16 billion of support that was made available, $9.2 billion was allocated.  The remaining $6.8 billion will be rolled over into a future Phase II auction, which will now have a budget of up to $11.2 billion to target partially-served areas and those areas that did not receive Phase I funding.  Phase I winning bidders will still need to submit a long-form application, which are due in January, to finalize their support.  But hopefully the close of this auction represents a nice holiday treat for those areas in need of support for broadband services!