Updated December 7, 2020

On January 30, 2020, the Federal Communications Commission adopted the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Report and Order, which establishes the framework for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), a $20.4 billion fund to bring high speed fixed broadband service to rural homes and small businesses. 

On June 10, the FCC released a public notice on final application procedures for Phase I of the RDOF auction. The Office of Economics and Analytics, the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, and the Wireline Competition Bureau issued a public notice on June 11, 2020, making available a guide that provides technical and mathematical details regarding the bidding procedures for Phase I.

What you need to know:

• $20.4 billion will be awarded using reverse auctions in two phases.
• The Phase I auction (Auction 904) allocated $9.2 billion. The results were released on December 7, 2020.
• Colorado had eight winning bidders with 76,216 locations assigned totaling nearly $250 million in support over 10 years. Detailed results information can be found on the RDOF website.
• All entities planning to participate in Auction 904 were required to submit a short-form application by July 15, 2020. On October 13, the FCC identified 386 applicants that are qualified to bid in Auction 904.
• Timeline:
  • June 15, 2020: Auction Application Tutorial Available
  • July 1-15, 2020: Short-Form Application (FCC Form 183) Filing Window
  • October 26, 2020: Mock Auction
  • October 29, 2020: Auction Began

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Useful Links:

FCC’s Auction 904 RDOF web page: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904

View all Public Notices, Letters, Orders, and News Releases related to RDOF: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904/releases

The FCC released Auction 904 Bidding Education Materials on October 2, 2020: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904/education. Materials include:

• Auction 904 Bidding Tutorial 
• Auction 904 Bidding System User Guide 
• Auction 904 Bidding System File Formats

Final Auction Procedures (June 11, 2020)

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Data

Final List of Eligible Areas (October 8, 2020)

On October 8, 2020, the FCC released the Final List of Eligible Areas. View the map and download the data here:

Updated List of Eligible Areas (June 25, 2020)

On June 25, 2020, the FCC released an updated list and map of eligible areas for the RDOF Phase I Auction.

• Public notice announcing the release of updated list: https://www.fcc.gov/document/rural-digital-opportunity-fund-phase-i-auction-updated-eligible-areas
• The updated list of the eligible census blocks, associated Census Block Groups, and Reserve Prices are available in CSV and Shapefile format here: www.fcc.gov/auction/904
• The Update Eligible Areas are also viewable in the FCC’s online map of Auction 904 Updated Eligible Areas

Preliminary List of Eligible Areas (March 17, 2020)

Supporting Data:

• Census Block data: www.census.gov/geographies/mapping-files/time-series/geo/tiger-line-file.2019.html
• Address Dataset for Colorado: data.colorado.gov/State/Statewide-Aggregate-Addresses-in-Colorado-2019-Pub/n7je-akky
• Colorado Broadband Dataset: data.colorado.gov/Telecommunications/Colorado-Broadband-Coverage/d8uf-vegq

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Education/Events:

FCC RDOF Phase I Auction Webinar For Government Officials (May 20, 2020)

CBO RDOF Auction 904 Ask the Experts Webinar (May 12, 2020)

Click here to download Slides. Visit the event page for more information

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I Auction Webinar (May 5, 2020)