Hundreds of Defaulted Colorado RDOF Locations May Be Ineligible for BEAD
Commnet notified FCC of default 20 days too late for BEAD
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2025 – Hundreds of defaulted locations from one federal broadband program may be ineligible to receive funding from another.
The Wireline Competition Bureau released a notice Tuesday that the 785 Colorado locations assigned to Commnet Wireless as part of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, and defaulted on by the company in June, were eligible for inclusion in other federal broadband projects.
Though these locations are eligible for inclusion in future federal broadband programs, it is unclear if the hundreds of locations Commnet defaulted on will be eligible for funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.
That's because the deadline for notifying the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that defaulted locations were eligible for BEAD was June 6.
Commnet notified the WCB of its intention to default on June 26, 20 days after the deadline, and stated in its notice that it had only informed the Colorado Broadband Office that it was intending to relinquish the locations that morning.
On the same day that Commnet announced its defaults, the NTIA announced that states would no longer be allowed to add additional locations to BEAD funding maps. Many states were now in the midst of auctioning off BEAD-eligible locations to providers.
The Colorado Broadband Office declined to comment about the eligibility status of the defaulted locations for BEAD funding, citing a staff shortage on the day of inquiry.
Commnet will face steep penalties from its defaults if it does not receive a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission. Without a waiver, Commnet will be required to return the $3,368,990.50 it received to service the locations and pay over $2.8 million in penalties.
Lumen defaults expected to remain BEAD-eligible
The FCC notice also stated that the roughly 41,000 RDOF locations defaulted on by Lumen Technologies would also be eligible for inclusion in federal broadband projects.
For its part, Lumen notified the WCB that it had surrendered its locations on June 6, the deadline for notifying the NTIA.
Krystal Stone, the BEAD Program Coordinator with the Oregon Broadband Office, told Broadband Breakfast that these locations should still be eligible for BEAD funding. Bree Maki, executive director for Minnesota’s Office of Broadband, told Broadband Breakfast that “these areas will be eligible if they fall within the parameters of NTIA restructuring policy notice and approval.”
Like Commnet, Lumen also faces steep penalties from its defaults. If the FCC does not waive any penalties, Lumen will be required to return the $150 million it received to service the locations and to pay over $125 million in penalties, putting the telecommunications company on the hook for around $275 million.
That is in addition to other penalties it may incur from defaulting on the roughly 36,000 additional locations it received.
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