FCC Commits Additional $800 Million From Rural Digital Opportunity Fund

WASHINGTON, September 1, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday it is authorizing just under $800 million from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund for six providers to expand broadband in over 350,000 locations in 19 states.

The six providers are NextLink Internet, California Internet L.P., Connect Everyone LLC, GigaBeam Networks LLC, Safelink Internet LLC, and Shenandoah Cable Television LLC. The states in which the winning bids will serve are Virginia, West Virginia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, Alabama, Wisconsin, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Louisiana, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Minnesota.

The largest amounts will go to Illinois with $212 million, Arizona with $140 million and Iowa with $130 million.

“This round of funding supports projects using a range of network technologies, including gigabit service hybrid fiber/fixed wireless deployments that will provide end-user locations with either fiber or fixed wireless network service using licensed spectrum,” the FCC said in a press release.

The announcement means the FCC has committed over $6 billion from the $9.2-billion fund, which initially announced winners under a different-look commission in December 2020, but which was scrutinized over the past year-and-a-half due to claims that the winning bids would go to areas that don’t need the connectivity promised. Under new Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the FCC has been purging the fund of what it sees as potential wasteful spending and provided those winning bidders with opportunities to let go of those bids.

The new commitment comes three weeks after the commission denied RDOF money to two such winning providers – broadband satellite service provider Starlink and the largest winner in the reverse auction process, LTD Broadband. The former was said to have a still-developing technology with a high-cost upfront commitment, while the latter had issues with getting certification from certain states by the time it was spurned.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr challenged the denial after saying he only learned about them in a press release.