Today is the deadline for major telcos to say whether or not they’re accepting Connect America Fund subsidies from the Federal Communications Commission to upgrade rural broadband service.
So far, no word on whether AT&T and Verizon have accepted any of the money, but CenturyLink has picked up most of the half billion dollars per year (per six years) it was offered. However, it turned some of the money down, including $55K per year for 45 homes in Modoc County, in the far northeast corner of California. CenturyLink has a tiny piece of territory there, attached to one of its exchanges in Oregon. It did accept all of the nearly $18 million available for Oregon customers. Besides California, CenturyLink turned down broadband service subsidies in Wyoming, Oklahoma and Mississippi.