Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: Auction 904
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The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is designed to bring high speed fixed broadband service to rural homes and small businesses that lack access. The FCC will hold a two phase reverse auction.
Phase I is scheduled to begin on October 29, 2020. The first phase will target over six million homes and businesses in census blocks that are entirely unserved by voice and broadband with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps.
Phase II will cover locations in census blocks that are partially served, as well as locations not funded in Phase I.
The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund will prioritize higher network speeds and lower latency, so that the networks will be able to stand the test of time.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support recipients must offer commercially at least one voice and one broadband service meeting the relevant service requirements to all locations within the awarded area in the prescribed time frame.
A total of $20.4 billion will be awarded over 10 years. Up to $16 billion will be made available for Phase I, and the remaining Phase I budget, along with $4.4 billion, will be awarded for Phase II of the auction.
The application process will have 2 stages.
The first step is the Short-Form Application. In this application, entities that are seeking to participate in the auction establish baseline financial and technical capabilities in order to be found eligible to bid. (Short-Form Application instructions)
The Long-Form Application will be required from winning bidders before they are authorized to begin receiving support.
For complete information about funding programs, including your
application status, please contact funders directly. Summaries are provided
for your convenience only. RHIhub does not take part in application processes
or monitor application status.