Here are the top 100 winners of the FCC’s $1.5B CAF II auction

The FCC has released the names of the winners of its Connect America Fund Phase II (CAF II) auction. The auction seeks to distribute around $1.5 billion to telecommunications companies so they can deploy services to rural areas.

Notably, a large number of the top winners in the auction said they plan to use fixed wireless technology to build out telecommunications services in rural areas. Indeed, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) said that member companies including Broadband Corp. of Hutchison, Minnesota; ClearSKY Systems of Verona, Illinois; GeoLinks (California Internet) of Camarillo, California; Midco (Midcontinent Communications) of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Total Highspeed in Nixa, Missouri; and Wisper ISP of Mascoutah, Illinois were among the winners. 

The FCC said that providers will use a variety of different network technologies to deploy their services including satellite, fixed wireless, cable and fiber. However, the agency said that the providers have to meet the FCC’s speed requirements with their services.

The agency said that 53% of all homes and businesses served with support from the auction will have broadband available with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps. 19% will have gigabit service available. And 711,389 locations—all but 0.25%—will have at least 25 Mbps service available.

The FCC said providers must build out to 40% of the assigned homes and businesses in a state within three years of becoming authorized to receive support. Build-out must increase by 20% in each subsequent year, until complete build-out is reached at the end of the sixth year, the agency said.

The Connect America Fund Phase II auction is part of a broader effort by the FCC to close the digital divide in rural America. The commission is working toward the launch of a $4.53 billion Mobility Fund Phase II auction to expand 4G LTE wireless coverage throughout rural America.

Here are the winners of the FCC’s CAF II auction, ranked by the size of their winning. The list also includes the technology choices of the top 10 winners:

Bidder Total Assigned Support Locations States Technology
AMG Technology Investment Group LLC $281,283,794 100,661 6 Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
Wisper ISP, Inc $220,319,375 80,149 6 Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium $186,022,490 66,322 8 Optical Carrier/Fiber to the End User
Viasat, Inc. $122,499,877 190,595 20

Geostationary Satellite

California Internet, L.P. $87,832,403 11,845 2 Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
Commnet Wireless, LLC $79,941,691 31,824 6 Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
Benton Ridge Telephone Company $52,371,819 23,957 3

Optical Carrier/Fiber to the End User and Terrestrial Fixed Wireless

Cal.net, Inc. $50,516,652 20,859 1 Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
Midcontinent Communications $38,902,342 9,371 3 Optical Carrier/Fiber to the End User and Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
Wilkes Telephone Membership Corporation $32,820,017 13,886 2 Optical Carrier/Fiber to the End User and Terrestrial Fixed Wireless
Tri County Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. $32,326,228 7,015 1  
Sunset Digital Communications, Inc. $29,575,007 9,093 2  
Crystal Automation Systems, Inc. $27,299,087 17,610 1  
Hawaiian Telcom, Inc. $18,160,638 3,936 1  
ArisWave Consortium $12,298,811 7,680 5  
Newmax, LLC dba Intermax Networks $11,556,872 7,952 2  
Air Link Rural Broadband, LLC $11,371,438 2,321 1  
Westfield Gas & Electric Light Department $10,325,401 5,163 1  
Orange County REMC $10,200,496 4,046 1  
Verizon Communications Inc. $9,476,934 3,361 7  
Tri County Telephone Association, Inc. $7,017,178 3,186 2  
Computer 5 Inc. d/b/a LocalTel Communications $6,847,092 1,910 1  
Declaration Networks Group, Inc $6,784,141 5,383 2  
Citynet LLC $6,517,708 898 1  
IdeaTek Telcom, LLC $6,186,882 2,490 1  
Plains internet, LLC $6,153,040 4,642 3  
Barry Electric Cooperative $6,103,454 2,308 1  
Echo Wireless Broadband, Inc. $5,475,911 1,717 2  
Bloosurf, LLC $5,468,497 5,091 2  
Union Telephone Company $5,437,562 1,468 1  
Consortium 903 $5,357,649 13,657 1  
Inventive Wireless of Nebraska, LLC $5,240,646 1,692 3  
Redwire, Inc. $4,766,846 8,041 1  
Pine Cellular Phones, Inc. $4,695,551 1,979 1  
Mercury Wireless $4,610,330 11,092 5  
Chariton Valley Communications Corporation $4,179,666 847 1  
Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries $4,070,664 849 1  
Lake Region Technology & Communications, LLC $4,024,501 2,247 1  
Hilliary Communications Consortium $3,992,041 1,335 2  
3E8 Broadband Solutions, LLC $3,621,847 811 1  
NE Colorado Cellular, Inc. $3,097,732 807 3  
Mark Twain Communications Company $3,053,366 676 1  
NBVDS Investment, L.L.C. $2,776,942 667 1  
Mountain West Technologies Corporation $2,658,057 550 1  
Armstrong Telephone Company - Northern Division $2,642,413 1,949 1  
Illinois Electric Cooperative $2,276,419 804 1  
Maquoketa Valley Rural Electric Cooperative $2,262,039 1,107 1  
Roseau Electric Cooperative, Inc. $2,081,770 326 1  
SW DinehNet LLC $2,038,738 869 1  
Hankins Information Technology $1,911,329 1,083 1  
Mid-States Services, LLC $1,868,060 358 1  
Allen's T.V. Cable Service, Inc. $1,776,733 794 1  
Shawnee Communications, Inc. $1,714,708 567 1  
Tombigbee Communications, LLC $1,691,879 279 1  
Federated Telephone Cooperative $1,431,039 808 1  
RTC Communications Corp $1,326,394 1,203 1  
Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative $1,313,543 315 1  
LTD Broadband LLC $1,264,673 1,407 5  
Crocker Communications, Inc. $1,193,077 404 1  
Meriwether Lewis Connect LLC $1,183,627 290 1  
Perry-Spencer Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. $1,182,426 359 1  
BEK Communications Cooperative $1,182,155 534 1  
Cincinnati Bell Inc. $1,098,830 342 2  
Consolidated Telephone Company $934,934 358 1  
Otelco, Inc. $921,505 772 1  
Garden Valley Telephone Company $880,346 95 1  
Wabash Independent Networks, Inc. $669,462 359 1  
Total Highspeed LLC $640,560 386 1  
Mutual Telephone Company of Sioux Center, Iowa $627,920 191 1  
West Central Telephone Association $611,934 532 1  
Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc. $552,330 209 1  
HolstonConnect, LLC $535,417 517 1  
Wikstrom Telephone Company $532,557 56 1  
Red Spectrum Communications LLC $521,715 185 1  
Jaguar Communication, Inc $510,588 672 1  
JCWIFI.com LLC $486,424 175 1  
Broadband Corp $428,117 128 1  
MGW Networks, LLC $417,807 238 1  
Valley Communications Association, LLC $404,754 153 1  
PC Telcorp, Inc. $387,303 33 1  
Farmers Mutual Telephone Company $348,992 163 1  
Ben Lomand Communications, LLC $333,797 171 1  
WPS $324,009 954 1  
Independent Networks, Inc. $288,834 123 1  
Casey Mutual Telephone Company $244,923 107 1  
Horry Telephone Cooperative, Inc. $233,490 80 1  
Velocity.Net Communications, Inc. $230,016 39 1  
Hanson Communications, Inc. $205,818 35 1  
Townes Wireless, Inc. $190,098 20 1  
Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association $179,957 101 1  
Bruce Telephone Company, Inc. $177,933 34 1  
ClearSKY Systems, Inc. $127,414 207 1  
Tri-County Electric Cooperative $117,784 106 1  
Gila Local Exchange Carrier, Inc. $104,499 29 1  
Wood County Telephone Company d/b/a Solarus $81,920 15 1  
Johnson Telephone Company $81,273 47 1  
Fidelity Communications Company $72,827 19 2  
Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee $55,011 13 1  
Frontier Communications Corporation $51,553 23 1  
Hardy Telecommunications, Inc $47,435 7 1  
Twin Valley Communications, Inc $45,610 9 1  
SyncWave, LLC $24,844 21 1  
Halstad Telephone Company $19,635 7 1