A decade-old Texas-based broadband company with operations across Kansas and Nebraska has been awarded nearly half a billion dollars to fund deployments across 11 states in the Midwest.
Nextlink Internet was awarded more than $25 million for projects in Kansas and Nebraska to bring fiber or wireless internet to rural areas through the Federal Communication Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.
Nearly 14,000 customers in Nebraska and more than 26,000 customers in Kansas could be the beneficiaries of the projects, according to the FCC announcement.
“This funding will connect more households throughout the country with high-speed broadband as part of our ongoing work to close the digital divide,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a news release. “We are confident these projects can bring quality service to currently unserved areas.”
Nextlink currently offers service in Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.
“We are excited to partner with the FCC to deploy gigabit connectivity to households across rural America," Bill Baker, co-founder and CEO of Nextlink said in a news release. "With significant licensed spectrum holdings to support gigabit wireless plus fiber projects ready to kick-off construction, we are well-positioned to move quickly to connect the unconnected.”
With the award, the news release said, Nextlink will expand beyond its existing seven-state footprint into Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming and Louisiana.
To date, the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund has distributed more than $6 billion to broadband providers to increase high-speed access in rural areas.
In the Aug. 31 announcement, Nextlink was awarded more than half — $429 million — of the nearly $800 million round of funding. Nextlink initially began operations in 2012 serving around the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
Check the Post for more as details become available. According to its website, Nextlink serves the following communities in Kansas and Nebraska.
