Consolidated Communications has won over $200 million in broadband funding, the company’s vice president of market development, Sarah Davis, told Telecompetitor in an interview.
That’s a substantial jump from a year ago, when the company had won over $160 million since 2019.
As the deadline for committing Capital Project Fund dollars approaches, Telecompetitor asked Davis if Consolidated had many other applications pending.
“We have pretty much heard about everything” other than a bid involving several counties in Texas, she said.
Most of the broadband funding that Consolidated has received was for New England, where the company is a major provider, Davis said. The company is currently gearing up to bid for funding in the $42.5 billion BEAD program in several states that it serves, she added.
Consolidated Broadband Funding
Consolidated’s latest win was $11.8 million through New Hampshire’s Broadband Matching Grant Initiative (BMGI) Program. The company will contribute an additional $7.7 million to cover total project costs of $19.5 million.
The company previously was awarded $40 million through New Hampshire’s Broadband Contract Program.
One other company — HUB66 Inc. — also has been awarded funding through the BMGI Program. That company won several grants totaling about $8.4 million. HUB66 is a fiber and fixed wireless provider that serves parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Those are the same three states that became part of Consolidated’s footprint when the company bought Fairpoint several years ago.
New Hampshire’s Office of Broadband Initiatives recommended a third unnamed company for BMGI funding, but that company apparently has not yet been approved.
Both the BMGI Program and the Broadband Contract Program were funded through the Capital Projects Fund. All the funding that New Hampshire allocated for those programs has now been awarded, other than the pending application in the BMGI program.
Consolidated was one of only two companies that received funding through the Broadband Contract Program. The other company was New Hampshire Electric Co-op, which received $50 million in the program.
When the BMGI was initially established, the state of New Hampshire initially planned to require providers to contribute at least 50% in matching funds, a higher percentage than was required for the Broadband Contract Program, Davis explained. Subsequently, however, the state changed the rules for the BMGI program so that providers only had to contribute 25% in matching funds.
Consolidated’s contribution was 39% for its BMGI win — an amount that is in line with what Consolidated has contributed for other awards it has won, Davis said.
Consolidated’s previous wins include public-private partnership wins with numerous communities. Davis confirmed that many of the communities that Consolidated has partnered with obtained their portion of the funding through the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Program which, like the Capital Projects Fund, was created in the American Rescue Plan Act.
Additional information about Consolidated’s New Hampshire funding wins can be found in this press release.
Additional information about New Hampshire broadband, including links to state funding resources, state specific Telecompetitor coverage, and more, can be found on the Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
Updated to state that HUBB66 was awarded $8.4 million.
