FCC Responds to Mercury Broadband RDOF Defaults

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2024 – The federal agency responsible for communications regulation has responded to numerous defaults by Mercury Broadband under a federal broadband funding program.

The Federal Communications Commission announced that it would be holding Mercury accountable for thousands of defaults on its obligations under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund in a Nov. 27 public notice. 

To date, the company has defaulted on around 2,000 Census Block Groups that it won in the 2020 RDOF reverse auction, citing rising costs and competitive encroachment. The FCC published a 189-page document listing Mercury’s defaulted CBGs, the latest of which occurred Nov. 25.

The company was originally awarded more than $6.8 million in RDOF funds to serve 167,684 locations across six states, according to FCC records.

The FCC noted that Mercury will be subject to non-compliance measures as a result of its defaults. The Commission did not outline specific fines that the company would face.

Mercury Broadband, based in Kansas City, Mo., provides fiber and wireless connectivity solutions in 5 states.