FCC Commits Over $700 Million in Latest Round of RDOF, Texas Legislation Allocates Federal American Rescue Plan Act Funding

FCC Commits Over $700 Million in Latest Round of RDOF  

The FCC announced that it is prepared to authorize $709,060,159 in its fourth round of funding for new broadband deployments through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. Over $1.7 billion has been committed so far under fund. In this latest funding wave, 50 broadband providers will bring broadband service to over 400,000 locations in 26 states. “This latest announcement highlights the agency’s commitment to supporting even more opportunities to connect hundreds of thousands of Americans to high-speed, reliable broadband service while doing our due diligence to ensure the applicants can deliver to these unserved communities as promised,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “This program can do great things to help expand broadband in our country.” 

Texas Legislation Allocates Federal American Rescue Plan Act Funding 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8 (SB 8) into law, allocating almost $16 billion in funding awarded to the state earlier this year under the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). In part, SB 8 devotes $500.475 million to broadband infrastructure and $150 million to the deployment and reliable operations of next generation 911 service including equipment and administration costs. “Senate Bill 8 allocates federal funding to support Texans in need, including our veterans, rural communities, small businesses, and frontline workers,” said Governor Abbott. “Allocating these federal funds paves the way for a more prosperous, brighter future for all Texans, and I want to thank my partners in the Legislature for bringing this bill to my desk.” 

The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.