GeoLinks Lands Big Grant From FCC

GeoLinks has been awarded $87.8 million from the Federal Communications Commission to bring broadband service to rural areas in California and Nevada. The Camarillo company was the recipient of the largest amount in California from the FCC’s Connect America Fund Phase II auction and the fifth largest overall. The auction provided a total of $1.49 billion that will be allocated over the next 10 years. “As part of its efforts to promote ubiquitous broadband access for all Americans, the FCC created the (Connect America) auction to enable Internet service providers to build and maintain infrastructure in unserved areas throughout the U.S.,” said Melissa Slawson, general counsel and vice president of government affairs and education for GeoLinks, in an email to the Business Journal. The company will bring broadband service to more than 11,000 rural households in California and Nevada. GeoLinks co-founder and Chief Executive Skyler Ditchfield said he was thrilled that a mid-sized Internet service provider secured the largest grant in the state and be in the top 5 nationally. “Not only does this secure a bright future for the rural communities we will service, but it also allows our company to have a secure future and bring more jobs into our local economy,” Ditchfield said in a statement.