A Comcast spokesperson told Telecompetitor today that the company was awarded $63 million in new funding through the Florida Broadband Infrastructure Program, and TDS Telecom issued a press release stating that it was awarded more than $1.8 million in the program.
In addition, a spokesperson for Cox Communications told Telecompetitor that “We are excited to participate in Florida’s Broadband Infrastructure Program. The state is still working through some specifics but we feel confident that we’ll be awarded grants to help deliver broadband to nearly 17,000 unserved and underserved homes in areas of northwest and central Florida.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced late last week that $247 million had been awarded through the Broadband Infrastructure Program but the announcement did not indicate which providers would receive the funding. A list of awards released by the state only showed the counties where the deployments would be made.
The Comcast spokesperson confirmed that the funding the company was awarded was for projects in 18 counties. Nearly 20,000 locations will receive service. The TDS awards are for deployments in the cities of Havana and Quincy.
The TDS project will add 134.46 miles of fiber optic cable in Gadsden County and bring up to 8 Gbps symmetrical speeds to 3,574 unserved locations. The company has been doing business in Florida since 1982 and serves the communities of Greensboro, Gretna, and Quincy as well as neighboring Attapulgus, GA.
“TDS is excited to partner with the state to bring more reliable fiber technology to Gadsden County,” Drew Petersen, senior vice president of corporate relations, said in a prepared statement. “I want to thank Governor DeSantis and Florida state leaders for understanding the critical need for high-speed internet access in this area.”
Comcast previously was awarded $5.4 million through Florida’s Broadband Opportunity Program in June and about $45 million through that program in February.
Cox previously was awarded $5 million through that program in June and about $19 million in February.
TDS Funding
TDS has had success in getting government funding for other broadband projects as well.
In May, the company was awarded more than $1.55 million in funding for a broadband expansion project in southwest Wisconsin. The Public Service Commission (PSC) of Wisconsin selected TDS’ Farmers Telephone Co. to provide fiber-to-the-home internet to more than 800 customers in Grant County in the following townships: South Lancaster, Lancaster, Beetown, Ellenboro, Harrison, Little Grant, North Lancaster, Potosi, Waterloo and Liberty.
Earlier that same month, TDS Telecom/Farmers Telephone Co. was awarded over $1.5 million for a project impacting 11 towns. The company will contribute additional funding exceeding $6.2 million to project costs. Frontier and other local carriers also shared in the total of $16.6 million in broadband funding the state of Wisconsin announced at the time.
Joan Engebretson contributed to this report
