ISP Seeks RDOF Waiver to Solve Duplicative Broadband Grants

WASHINGTON, August 7, 2024 – In a bid to prevent duplication of federal broadband funding, Resound Networks has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a waiver to give up certain Rural Digital Opportunity Fund obligations on Tribal lands.

Following an agreement with the affected Tribal governments, Resound has requested relief to give up 21 census blocks without the normal penalties in Oklahoma and Arizona that were funded by both the FCC’s RDOF and the NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.

In the company’s waiver filed with the FCC last Friday, Resound asserted that waiving its RDOF obligations will be essential if the FCC is going to uphold a commitment not to fund duplicative broadband projects with federal money.

Texas-based Resound also alleged the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration failed to adhere to a requirement of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 that it needed to coordinate with the FCC and Department of Agriculture before awarding TBCP funds to tribes.

Granting the waiver request would not adversely affect the provision of high-speed internet to unserved Tribal locations in the affected census blocks. Instead, it would permit the Tribes to fully leverage the TBCP grant funds they were awarded, totaling over $5 million, Resound said.

A $5 million grant was awarded to the Cocopah Tribe in rural southwestern Arizona to install fiber optic cable and equipment for 200 underserved Tribal households. 

And, the Tonkawa Tribe of rural northern Oklahoma received $500,000 to “build a RAN network incorporating 5 leased and owned tower sites covering 159 unserved locations,” according to the Resound's waiver request.

The FCC will evaluate RDOF waiver, considering either the good cause presented by Resound or the potential public interest benefits.