Cox Announces RDOF Shortfalls in Three States

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2025 – The largest private broadband company in the U.S. just announced that it will be falling short of RDOF project milestones.

Cox Communications announced in a filing to the FCC Wednesday that it fell short of its buildout obligations under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. It was the company’s response to the first deployment deadline for RDOF that passed on Dec. 31, 2024. 

Cox was required to serve 40% of the locations it committed to in its RDOF bid by Dec. 31. The three states that didn’t reach this milestone were Louisiana (reached 71% of milestone), Nebraska (reached 83% of milestone), and Arizona (reached 96% of milestone). Cox did not provide an explanation for its shortcomings.

The RDOF has seen a multitude of problems over the last few years, including shrinking broadband prospects, billions in defaults, and the several locations asking to be removed from the funding plan. The FCC announced in July that it would not provide blanket amnesty to providers who default or face financial penalties. 

Because of this ruling, Cox can still be fined by the FCC for its shortfalls in the three states. Cox said in its filing that is working to address these issues and recognizes the FCC can penalize it for its shortcomings.

Cox, which has about 6.5 million broadband customers across 18 states, received RDOF funding for nine of those states. Cox said it reached its 40% buildout milestone in the other six states.