Ramona Adams
The Federal Communications Commission has released a map of areas that are eligible to become beneficiaries of a planned reverse auction, which could provide up to $4.53 billion in funds to mobile operators that can deliver internet access to rural areas, FierceWireless reported Wednesday.
The Mobility Fund Phase II auction will make funds available over a 10-year period to help operators bring 4G LTE mobile service that can deliver at least 10 megabits per second to users in under-served areas.
FCC’s map of eligibility mostly covers the western U.S. region, with the most number of under-served areas in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Idaho, among other states.
Eligible areas in the eastern U.S. include parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and others.
FCC developed the map based on data from mobile service providers and will accept feedback from operators from March through August.
