Easton Utilities Withdraws from RDOF over Testing Costs

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2026 – Easton Utilities, a Maryland-based broadband service provider, is withdrawing from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund because the financial costs far exceeded the amount of money it receives from the grant.

In a May 8 letter to the FCC, the ISP explained that after exploring the vendors that would enable testing, truck rolls and manpower, the cost would far exceed the $180,000 in funding it was awarded.  

The company was initially awarded the RDOF funding to provide several hundred communities with broadband internet service. However, the testing process added a large financial burden to overall costs. Easton explained that if it had been granted the ability to submit VFi customers for random sampling, then the financial burden would be much less.