The Federal Communications Commission announced Dec. 7 more than 230,000 rural South Carolinians will gain access to high-speed broadband through the Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction, which is the FCC’s effort to close the digital divide.
The FCC allocated $121,245,987 to help expand broadband to 108,833 unserved homes and businesses over the next 10 years. Nearly all eligible South Carolina locations will be receiving access to broadband with speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps, with 96% getting gigabit-speed broadband. The auction led to more locations being awarded at less cost to Americans who pay into the FCC’s Universal Service Fund.
“This historic auction is great news for the residents of so many rural South Carolina communities, who will get access to high-quality broadband service in areas that for too long have been on the wrong side of the digital divide,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “We structured this innovative and groundbreaking auction to prioritize bids for high-speed, low-latency services to deliver the best results for rural Americans, and the results show that this strategy worked. This auction was the commission’s single largest step ever taken toward delivering digital opportunity to every American and is another key success in our ongoing commitment to universal service.”
The following winning bidders, number of homes and businesses to be served and total support for 10 years in South Carolina are listed below.
| County | Bidder | Locations | Support |
| Abbeville | CCO Holdings LLC (Charter Communications), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and WC Fiber LLC | 201 | $276,739 |
| Anderson | CCO Holdings LLC (Charter Communications), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and WC Fiber LLC | 3,173 | $2,118,102 |
| Greenville | CCO Holdings, LLC (Charter Communications) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. | 1,780 | $2,012,343 |
| Greenwood | CCO Holdings LLC (Charter Communications), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and WC Fiber LLC | 2,395 | $4,145,184 |
| Laurens | CCO Holdings, LLC (Charter Communications) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. | 2,455 | $1,929,715 |
| Oconee | CCO Holdings LLC (Charter Communications), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and WC Fiber LLC | 5,826 | $6,811,677 |
| Pickens | CCO Holdings LLC (Charter Communications), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and WC Fiber LLC | 1,785 | $1,910,296 |
| Spartanburg | CCO Holdings LLC (Charter Communications), Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and WC Fiber LLC | 3,208 | $2,840,521 |
In October 2020, the FCC adopted rules to create the 5G Fund for Rural America, which will distribute up to $9 billion over the next decade to bring 5G wireless broadband connectivity to rural America.
For more information, visit fcc.gov/auction/904.
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