CenturyLink, Windstream say FCC's CAF-II timeline is too restrictive [telecom]

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By Sean Buckley

CenturyLink and Windstream are prime candidates for FCC's Connect America Fund Phase II (CAF-II) since both telcos serve a large swatch of Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, but both telcos are concerned that the timeline to meet the 10/1 Mbps requirement is not realistic.

The FCC ruled last week that service providers that want to take advantage of CAF funding will have to deliver broadband speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. By increasing the requirement from 4/1 Mbps, the regulator said that it will be able to make certain that rural consumers get the same broadband speeds that

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