Nebraska
Reverse auction in Nebraska allocates unused and withheld broadband money – Broadband Communities
News
Winning bids from a reverse auction announced last month by the Nebraska Public Service Commission will help fund a broadband buildout to more than 1,100 previously unserved households in the state.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Four entities have been awarded nearly $21 million to provide broadband capable voice service to rural areas of Nebraska where carriers Frontier and Windstream have traditionally provided only voice service, according to a recent announcement by the Nebraska Public Service Commission.
The auctions redistributed Nebraska Universal Service Fund support “that was either unused or withheld from the two companies,” the commission’s March 26 announcement stated.
The Nebraska Public Service Commision’s announcement reported that the commission awarded $5,726,880 of the $5,845,893 available in support for Windstream areas, and $15,235,366 of the $15,996,054.50 in funds available for Frontier areas.
Entities to win bids in the reverse auction included Great Plains Communications, the Hamilton Consortium, Midstates, and Pinpoint Communications.
Nebraska Public Service Commission Chair Dan Watermeier was happy with the outcome of reverse auction, the agency’s release stated.
“The bids awarded will help these companies connect unserved households in rural Nebraska,” he said.
The approximately $3.54 million awarded to Great Plains Communications in the reverse auction will help the company provide high-speed broadband fiber services to 310 households in the state, an April 10 announcement from the company announced.
“We applaud the Nebraska Public Service Commission for facilitating this reverse auction program to maximize available broadband funding to benefit more communities,” said Joe Pellegrini, the president and COO of Great Plains Communications. “We are looking forward to bringing high-speed fiber broadband services to more residents in these unserved areas of the state.”
Great Plains Communications detailed areas where their funding will go towards, and listed rural areas of Columbus, Hebron, Kearney, Madison, Mead, Monroe, Nebraska City, Palmer, Seward, and Superior.
A full catalog of areas that were awarded bids is available at the Nebraska Public Service Commission’s broadband map, which is available here online.