map of broadband deployments
Based on April 2019 deployment data, the most recent available, these areas in Idaho have missed gaining broadband access. Map courtesy of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Click to enlarge.

CenturyLink recently informed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it failed to meet a deadline to implement rural broadband in Idaho, for which it had received $500 million nationwide.

The Monroe, Louisiana-based company received funding to implement 10 Megabits per second (Mbps) download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed, with the requirement that it implement at least 80% of the sites by the end of 2019. In a Jan. 15 letter, it informed the FCC it believed it had failed to meet this deadline in a number of states, including Idaho.

“In August 2015, CenturyLink accepted Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II support to deploy broadband service to over one million locations in 33 states,” Jeffrey Lanning, CenturyLink vice president, federal regulatory affairs wrote. “Using that support, CenturyLink has now enabled broadband service at speeds of at least 10/1 Mbps or higher to nearly 900,000 locations in CAF II census blocks in those states.”

The letter goes on to state that CenturyLink met or exceeded the program’s interim broadband deployment deadline in 10 states.

However, in 23 other states, including Idaho, CenturyLink failed to meet the deadline, Lanning wrote. The company will provide more details by March 1, he said.

CenturyLink wouldn’t elaborate on where it had failed to meet its Idaho targets.

“CenturyLink has been making substantial investments to bring broadband to FCC-designated, high-cost locations in the 33 states where it accepted CAF II money and will continue to make these investments,” the company said in an email message. “Over the last four years, the company has deployed broadband to nearly 900,000 homes and small businesses in FCC-designated census blocks across rural America. We met our CAF II 2019 enablement milestone in 10 states and are close in the remaining states, where we are working diligently and expect to meet the milestone soon.”

Frontier meets commitments 

Frontier Communications, based in Norwalk, Connecticut, sent a similar letter to the FCC on Jan. 15, but while it said it may have failed to meet the deadline in 13 states, Idaho was not one of them.

“Frontier’s Idaho CAF II deployment is on schedule,” said Javier Mendoza, vice president of corporate communications and external affairs, in an email message. “While Frontier did report a number of states where we may have been under the required 80% at the end of 2019, Idaho was not one of those states. Frontier successfully met its Idaho CAF II commitment for 2019 and remains committed to meeting its CAF II obligations.”

However, Frontier has reportedly told some organizations, such as the Utah Public Utilities Commission (PUC), that it is likely to file for bankruptcy later this year, according to the Moab Times-Independent. “Frontier is evaluating its capital structure with an eye to reducing debt and interest expense so as to be able to better serve our customers,” Mendoza said. “Our customers should expect no changes as we remain focused on providing quality communications services.”

Idaho broadband

CenturyLink received more than $500 million through the FCC program in 2015 to upgrade internet services nationwide. That included 27 Idaho counties, ranging from $1.2 million and 1,940 locations in Idaho County to $77 for one location in Fremont County. Altogether, the company committed to bring improved broadband speeds to more than 12,000 households and businesses in high-cost areas of Idaho, a CenturyLink spokesman said in January 2018.

At that time, CenturyLink had completed broadband upgrades to more than 1,500 homes and businesses, including locations in Kamiah, Lava Hot Springs, Montpelier and New Plymouth, and was on schedule to have 60% of the company’s overall CAF builds completed by the end of 2018.

Doug Dawson, president of CCG Consulting in Washington, D.C., predicted in a blog post in February 2019 that carriers would fail to meet the 80% deadline.

“The telcos mostly met their 60% targets by serving the low-hanging fruit,” he wrote. “They are going to have a huge challenge meeting the next milestones of 80% and 100%.”