The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) has announced that the following 12 entities have been provisionally selected to receive roughly $12 million in rural broadband experiments category one funding:
- BARC Electric Cooperative (VA)
- City of Chanute, Kansas (KS)
- Daktel Communications LLC (ND)
- Douglas Services, Inc. (OR)
- EPB (TN)
- Federated Telephone Cooperative (MN)
- Lake Region Technology & Communications, LLC (OK)
- Midwest Energy Cooperative d/b/a Midwest Connections (MI)
- Northeast Rural Services, Inc. (OK)
- Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative (MN)
- Skybeam, LLC (IA, MN, TX)
- West Central Telephone Association (MN)
A number of initial provisional winners of rural broadband experiments support defaulted on their awards, opening the door for next-in-line bidders to be provisionally selected as winners. A list showing each newly-selected provisional winner’s requested support amount is available as an attachment to the Bureau’s Public Notice. These new provisional winners must now meet the following post-selection review requirements: (1) by May 4, 2015, the bidders must submit a letter from an acceptable bank committing to provide the bidder with a letter of credit in the amount of the support the bidder will receive for each of its projects; and (2) by June 2, 2015, the bidders must submit appropriate documentation of their designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier in all areas for which they will receive support.
