The Connect America Fund (CAF) – a centerpiece of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF) High Cost program – ensures that rural communities have access to reliable high-speed Internet service at rates reasonably comparable to those in urban areas.

The program consists of a nearly a dozen modernized funds that use cost models and competitive bidding to give carriers set monthly payments to deploy and maintain robust communications networks – which provide voice connections and broadband at required speeds – in unserved and underserved areas over a defined timeline, with interim and final deployment milestone deadlines. Carriers participating in modernized funds that subsidize fixed broadband must connect a specific number of locations in eligible areas over the fund’s deployment timeline, and must report their progress in meeting these deployment obligations to USAC.

The Connect America Fund Broadband Map (CAF Map) provides a granular, location-level view of the impact of the Connect America Fund on broadband expansion in rural America. The map displays the geographic areas that are eligible for CAF support, as well as the specific fixed locations where participating carriers report offering mass-market, high speed Internet service funded by the program. The dataset reflected in the CAF Map includes address, latitude and longitude coordinates, carrier name, deployment year and minimum speeds offered for every location where CAF-supported service is available.

The CAF Map also serves as a foundation for the Connect America Fund State Map (CAF State Map), which provides a big-picture, state-level view of CAF-supported broadband deployment. The CAF State Map displays total deployment obligations by location count, total cumulative deployment reported so far by location count and total cumulative funding paid out to date – all on a state-by-state basis – by aggregating data for all carriers participating in the Connect America Fund in each state.

The deployment information in both maps comes out of USAC’s High Cost Universal Broadband (HUBB) portal, which collects and tracks CAF broadband deployment data. Carriers have until March 1 annually to submit and certify data in the HUBB for all locations deployed with CAF support during the previous calendar year. This information includes address, latitude and longitude coordinates, carrier name, filing year and available speeds. (Both maps include data tables that allow users to filter the underlying information by state, CAF program, carrier name, filing year and speed tier.) USAC independently verifies deployment to a sample of locations reported in the HUBB each year to monitor carrier compliance with CAF build-out obligations.

The current maps are based on broadband deployment data certifed in the HUBB as of Sept. 30, 2024, by carriers participating in the following Connect America Fund programs:

USAC updates the CAF Map and the CAF State Map twice a year with additional broadband deployment data filed and certified by carriers in the HUBB. Information in the map is also subject to change as carriers increase network speeds, revise geographic coordinates and address information and/or correct inaccuracies.

Note that in certain instances, the FCC cost model identifies areas as eligible for CAF support even though these areas appear to be in or near urban centers. In other instances, a carrier’s historic study area (service territory) crosses state lines, and locations deployed in one state therefore count towards deployment obligations in another state.

Also note that the Tribal Boundaries on the maps reflect the definition of Tribal lands that the FCC adopted for the purpose of awarding ACAM II support. This means that the Tribal boundaries depicted include any federally recognized Indian Tribe’s reservation, pueblo or colony, including former reservations in Oklahoma, Alaska Native regions established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlements Act (85 Stat. 688), Indian Allotments and Hawaiian Home Lands. The “former reservations in Oklahoma” are the geographic boundaries reflected in the Historical Map of Oklahoma, 1870-1890, (Oklahoma Historical Map, 1870-1890, Plate 6, Webb Publishing Company, Oklahoma City, OK (1917) (Copyright 1917, George Rainey, Enid, OK; Engraved George F. Cram Company, Chicago, IL)). The Hawaiian Home Lands are areas held in trust for Native Hawaiians by the state of Hawaii, pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921 (passed by Congress on July 9, 1921, 42 Stat. 108, et seq., as amended). Other Universal Service Fund programs, including other High Cost programs, or other federal, state, or local programs may consider different areas as Tribal lands. The Tribal Boundaries on this map should therefore not be used for determining eligibility for any program other than ACAM II.