Federal broadband solicitation could help rural unserved Massachusetts census tracts, says FCC | masslive.com
The Federal Communication Commission says it will launch an auction on July 24 for private telecom firms to provide broadband to 13,000 rural premises in Massachusetts that still don’t have high-speed internet service. Dozens of state census blocks are eligible under the next phase of the FCC’s Connect America Fund, which offsets provider costs of extending broadband service into rural areas, the FCC said in a press release. The ‘reverse auction’ will provide opportunities for new entrants to the marketplace, regardless of technology, including phone companies, fixed wireless service providers, satellite providers, cable companies and electric utility broadband providers, according to the FCC.