EMPOWER Seeks Lighter FCC Financing Rules as Part of RiverStreet Deal

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2024 – EMPOWER Broadband is asking the government to waive some financing requirements as part of its proposed takeover of thousands of subsidized broadband locations from RiverStreet, hoping to save millions of dollars in the process.

The transfer of 3,757 Virginia homes and businesses would put EMPOWER behind the Federal Communications Commission’s deployment deadlines for the 2018 Connect America Fund Phase II auction, which call for 80 percent completion by the end of 2024 and 100 percent by the end of 2025. The auction resulted in a total of $1.49 billion of support over ten years to more than 100 providers, which are slated to serve more than 700,000 locations.