FCC announces $1.2 billion fund for broadband deployment in rural areas

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund has been announced by the FCC to expand broadband service in 32 states. The FCC says this is the largest funding round to date and that 23 broadband companies will provide service to more than one million new areas.

The Rural Broadband Accountability Plan was introduced by the FCC and will double the number of audits and verifications performed this year. The FCC will have to make the results of verifications, audits and speed and latency tests public on the USAC website.

The new Rural Broadband Accountability Plan will streamline our audit and verification processes while also making the results of verifications, audits, and latency testing publicly available for the first time. These safeguards will ensure that program providers do their jobs. https://t.co/LlU0nLvOGM

— Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcelFCC) January 28, 2022

The new Rural Broadband Accountability Plan will make the results of verifications, audits, and latency testing publicly available for the first time.

As employees transitioned to working from home and kids attended class virtually, the gaps in rural America's communication were amplified. President Joe Biden signed off on a $1 trillion infrastructure package in November that allocates $65 billion to provide broadband to every American household. The FCC launched a program late last year that provides cheaper internet to low-income households.

In December 2020, the FCC awarded companies a total of $9.2 billion under the Rural Digital Opportunity fund. The FCC warned the company to stop using the funds to provide service to well- connected areas after it was discovered that the company was supposed to deploy its satellite internet network in rural areas.