Commission Document

• Print
• Email

NEWS
Federal Communications Commission

News Media Information 202 / 418-0500

445 12th Street, S.W.

Internet: http://www.fcc.gov

Washington, D. C. 20554

TTY: 1-888-835-5322

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:

July 26, 2012
Neil Grace, 202-418-0506
Email: neil.grace@fcc.gov

FCC RELEASES NEW, INTERACTIVE MAP ILLUSTRATING

STATES SET TO RECEIVE ‘CONNECT AMERICA FUND’ SUPPORT

TO BRING 400,000 AMERICANS HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND

Washington, D.C. – The FCC announced that nearly 400,000 residents and small business owners in 37
states will gain access to high-speed Internet within three years, as a result of the first phase of the
‘Connect America Fund.’ The FCC today released a new, data-driven, interactive map
(http://www.fcc.gov/maps/connect-america-fund-caf-phase-i) developed to help illustrate areas in the
U.S. that will receive broadband infrastructure build-out within three years through the Connect America
Fund phase-one roll out.
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said, “As our new map demonstrates, millions of Americans still live,
work, and travel in rural areas where access to high-speed Internet does not exist. Through the FCC’s
Connect America Fund initiatives, we’re helping complete our nation’s broadband infrastructure, which
will lead to job creation, economic growth, and innovation in the 21st century. The map is the latest
example of how the agency can use mapping technology to spur innovation and to develop new products
for the public.”
This interactive map shows the 37 states where new broadband will be deployed as a result of the first
phase of the Connect America Fund. The number of homes, businesses, and anchor institution locations
that will gain access to new broadband are displayed, along with the number of residents in each state that
currently lack access to broadband.
The new map is part of the Commission’s Data Innovation Initiative to modernize and streamline how the
agency collects, uses, and disseminates data. The map builds on the government-leading work by the
Commission using next-generation mapping tools to make geographic data more accessible.
The ‘Connect America Fund’ aims to connect 7 million unserved rural Americans to broadband in six
years, and puts the nation on a path to connect all 19 million unserved residents by 2020. The FCC
launched this unprecedented broadband expansion last year when it reformed and modernized the
Universal Service Fund, which connected rural America to the telephone network in the 20th century.
The Commission created the ‘Connect America Fund’ to unleash the benefits of broadband for all
Americans in the 21st century.

--FCC--

News about the Federal Communications Commission can also be found on the Commission’s web
site www.fcc.gov.

---

---