RDOF News Update – FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund
The FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction (Auction 904) concluded on November 25, 2020, with 180 winning bidders. The total amount of 10-year RDOF support won at auction is $9.23 billion. Winning bids cover 5,220,833 locations in 49 states and one U.S. territory. Winning bids for download speeds of at least 100 Mbps cover 99.7% of locations, with over 85% of locations covered by winning bids for Gigabit speed service.
A list of Auction 904 winning bidders is available here. A summary of the results by state is available here. An interactive map of the RDOF auction results is available on the Auction 904 web page. Additional information is available on the FCC’s RDOF auction website: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904. Below is an update on the latest RDOF news.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize 2,072 RDOF Winning Bids
August 31, 2022 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced they are ready to authorize support for 2,072 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids. This is the twelfth set of RDOF winning bids that are ready to be authorized. A list showing each winning bid ready to be authorized, the corresponding long-form applicant, each winning bid’s total amount of 10-year support, and other details is available as Attachment A to the Public Notice. The 2,072 winning bids belong to AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC (Nextlink Internet), California Internet, L.P. dba GeoLinks, Connect Everyone LLC, GigaBeam Networks, LLC, Safelink Internet LLC, and Shenandoah Cable Television, LLC.
Attachment B contains a list of winning bids associated with winning bidders or their assignees that have notified the FCC that they do not intend to pursue all or some of their winning bids in a state. RDOF support will not be authorized for the winning bids listed in Attachment B.
To be authorized to receive the listed support amounts, however, each RDOF winning bidder must submit acceptable irrevocable stand-by letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters for each state where they have winning bids that are ready to be authorized prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on September 15, 2022. The FCC will continue to review RDOF long-form applications on a rolling basis, and will announce other approvals of long-forms in future public notices. Additional information on broadband providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available on the FCC’s RDOF auction website.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr Issues Full Statement On FCC Denial Of Starlink RDOF Funding
August 24, 2022 – FCC Commissioner Brendan Car, the senior Republican on the FCC, has released his full statement on the FCC’s decision to reject Starlink Services, LLC’s long-form application to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction support. Starlink won $885,509,638.40 in 10-year RDOF support to serve 642,925 locations in 35 states. Following extensive review of Starlink’s long-form application, the FCC concluded Starlink has “failed to demonstrate that [it] could deliver the promised service.”
In the Public Notice denying Starlink’s RDOF long-form application, the FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics provided the following explanation of why they denied Starlink’s application: The Bureau has determined that, based on the totality of the long-form application, the expansive service areas reflected in its winning bids, and its inadequate responses to the Bureau’s follow-up questions, Starlink is not reasonably capable of complying with the Commission’s requirements.
In his full statement criticizing the FCC’s decision, Commissioner Carr puts forth four general reasons as to why he disagrees. Below is Commissioner Carr’s first argument against the decision:
First, the FCC’s announcement claims that the agency is acting to ‘avoid extensive delays in providing needed service to rural areas.’ Yet that is exactly the outcome that this decision ensures. The FCC’s 2020 award to Starlink secured a commitment for the delivery of high-speed Internet service to 642,925 unserved rural homes and businesses across 35 states. By reversing course, the FCC has just chosen to vaporize that commitment and replace it with . . . nothing. That’s a decision to leave families waiting on the wrong side of the digital divide when we have the technology to get them high-speed service today.
FCC Rejects LTD Broadband’s Long-Form Application For Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Support
August 10, 2022 – The FCC has announced it has rejected LTD Broadband LLC’s long-form application to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction support. The public announcement was made in an FCC News Release, which includes a statement from FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. The official decision denying LTD Broadband’s RDOF application can be found in a Public Notice issued by the FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics.
LTD Broadband initially won $1,320,920,718.20 in 10-year RDOF support to serve 528,088 locations in 15 states. It was later declared to be in default of winning bids in seven states after failing to timely receive eligible telecommunications carrier status, but was waiting to have its RDOF long-form application approved for the remaining states. However, the FCC has ultimately concluded that LTD is “not reasonably capable of deploying a network of the scope, scale, and size required by LTD’s extensive winning bids.” The News Release announcing the FCC is rejecting the long-form applications of both LTD Broadband and Starlink contains the following statement from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the decision:
“After careful legal, technical, and policy review, we are rejecting these applications. Consumers deserve reliable and affordable high-speed broadband,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “We must put scarce universal service dollars to their best possible use as we move into a digital future that demands ever more powerful and faster networks. We cannot afford to subsidize ventures that are not delivering the promised speeds or are not likely to meet program requirements.”
FCC Rejects Starlink’s Long-Form Application For Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Support
August 10, 2022 – The FCC has announced it has rejected Starlink Services, LLC’s long-form application to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction support. The public announcement was made in an FCC News Release, which includes a statement from FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. The official decision denying Starlink’s RDOF application can be found in a Public Notice issued by the FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics.
Starlink, through its parent SpaceX, initially won $885,509,638.40 in 10-year RDOF support to serve 642,925 locations in 35 states. Following extensive review of Starlink’s long-form application, the FCC concluded Starlink has “failed to demonstrate that [it] could deliver the promised service.” The News Release announcing the FCC is rejecting the long-form applications of both LTD Broadband and Starlink contains the following statement from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the decision:
“After careful legal, technical, and policy review, we are rejecting these applications. Consumers deserve reliable and affordable high-speed broadband,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “We must put scarce universal service dollars to their best possible use as we move into a digital future that demands ever more powerful and faster networks. We cannot afford to subsidize ventures that are not delivering the promised speeds or are not likely to meet program requirements.”
“Starlink’s technology has real promise,” continued Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “But the question before us was whether to publicly subsidize its still developing technology for consumer broadband – which requires that users purchase a $600 dish – with nearly $900 million in universal service funds until 2032.”
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize 80 RDOF Winning Bids
August 10, 2022 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced they are ready to authorize support for 80 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids. This is the eleventh set of RDOF winning bids that are ready to be authorized. A list showing each winning bid ready to be authorized, the corresponding long-form applicant, each winning bid’s total amount of 10-year support, and other details is available as Attachment A to the Public Notice. The RDOF winning bids belong to E Fiber San Juan, LLC; Monster Broadband; and Northern Arapaho Tribal Industries. Also, Attachment B to the Public Notice is a list of RDOF bids that are in default. These include winning bids made by LTD Broadband and Starlink.
FCC staff reviewed the long-form applications associated with the winning bids, and determined they met all legal, financial, and technical requirements. To be authorized to receive the listed support amounts, however, each RDOF winning bidder must submit acceptable irrevocable stand-by letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters for each state where they have winning bids that are ready to be authorized prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on August 24, 2022. The FCC will continue to review RDOF long-form applications on a rolling basis, and will announce other approvals of long-forms in future public notices. Additional information on broadband providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available on the FCC’s RDOF auction website.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 95 Winning Bids (12th RDOF Authorization)
August 5, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 95 winning bids. This is the twelfth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice contains a list of the authorized winning bids and the corresponding support amounts which will go to the following eight entities: Cebridge Telecom KY, LLC (Kentucky); Cebridge Telecom LA, LLC (Louisiana); Cebridge Telecom WV, LLC (West Virginia); Cogeco US (Delmar), LLC (Virginia); Megawatt Communications LLC (Tennessee); Miles Communications LLC (Iowa); North Texas Fiber, Inc. (Texas); and TCA Communications, LLC (Arkansas).
The authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of August 2022.
The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.
FCC Issues $4.35 Million Notice Of Apparent Liability For 73 RDOF Auction Applicants That Are In Default Of Winning Bids
July 22, 2022 – The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) that applies to 73 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I Auction applicants that have defaulted on RDOF winning bids. The NAL applies to RDOF bids covering 1,702 census block groups in 36 states containing an estimated 129,909 locations. Each of the 73 RDOF applicants identified in the NAL defaulted by withdrawing its application with respect to certain areas, or by its failure to meet deadlines and requirements to which it agreed when it participated in the RDOF auction. The FCC has proposed a total of $4,353,773.87 in fines to be apportioned among the 73 RDOF applicants found to be in default. Appendix A to the NAL contains a short summary of facts for each of the 73 RDOF applicants describing why each are in default for certain RDOF winning bids. Appendix B identifies RDOF winning bidders that assigned winning bids to related entities, and are jointly and severally liable with their assignees for being in default of winning bids. Appendix C lists the specific census block groups that are subject to forfeiture, along with the RDOF auction applicant in default.
FCC Fines LTD Broadband $2.3 Million For Being In Default Of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Winning Bids
July 22, 2022 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) that applies to 73 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I Auction applicants that have defaulted on RDOF winning bids. The FCC has proposed a fine of $2,304,000 for LTD Broadband LLC. Each of the RDOF applicants identified in the NAL defaulted by withdrawing its application with respect to certain areas, or by its failure to meet deadlines and requirements to which it agreed when it participated in the RDOF auction. Appendix A to the NAL contains a short summary of facts for each of the 73 RDOF applicants describing why each are in default for certain RDOF winning bids. Appendix B identifies RDOF winning bidders that assigned winning bids to related entities, and are jointly and severally liable with their assignees for being in default of winning bids. Appendix C lists the specific census block groups that are subject to forfeiture, along with the RDOF auction applicant in default. Appendix A to the NAL contains the following entry for LTD Broadband:
LTD Broadband LLC (LTD Broadband); FRN: 0020926788; File No.: EB-IHD-22-00033870; NAL/Acct No.: 202232080047. LTD Broadband is a Nevada company that provides fiber and fixed wireless service to customers, businesses and governmental entities located in rural areas. LTD Broadband timely submitted its Short-Form Application to participate in Auction 904 and was a successful bidder. On August 16, 2021, LTD Broadband notified the Commission of its intent to default on certain census blocks. On August 25, 2021, LTD Broadband also notified the Commission that it would not seek reconsideration of WCB’s denial of the company’s deadline waiver request for its Kansas and Oklahoma bids. The areas where LTD Broadband intended to default cover 768 CBGs subject to forfeiture. WCB declared LTD Broadband to be in default on December 16, 2021, and on January 28, 2022, and referred the company to EB for enforcement action. The Commission finds that LTD Broadband apparently committed violations by defaulting on 768 CBGs subject to forfeiture, which places the company’s base forfeiture at $2,304,000.00. LTD Broadband’s CBGs in default subject to forfeiture amounted to $78,496,778.40, thereby capping the maximum possible forfeiture at $11,774,516.76, which is 15% of LTD Broadband’s defaulted support subject to forfeiture in Auction 904. Because the base forfeiture is less than the 15% cap established in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Order, the Commission finds that the forfeiture amount of $2,304,000.00 against LTD Broadband is appropriate here.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 1605 Winning Bids (11th RDOF Authorization)
July 14, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 1,605 winning bids. This is the eleventh Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. A list of the authorized winning bids is available as Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice. Most of the authorized winning bids belong to Mercury Wireless.
The authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of July 2022.
The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.
LTD Broadband Withdraws Petition For Reconsideration Of FCC Order Stripping Company Of RDOF Support In California
June 21, 2022 – LTD Broadband LLC has filed to withdraw its Petition for Partial Reconsideration of a July 2021 Wireline Competition Bureau Order denying LTD’s petition for waiver of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction’s eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) requirement. LTD Broadband sought waiver of the requirement to be designated as an ETC in areas it won RDOF support prior to June 7, 2021 for eight states where it was a winning bidder. The Bureau’s July 2021 Order denied the waiver request for the states of California, Kansas, and Oklahoma, which resulted in LTD being declared to be in default of its RDOF winning bids there. With respect to the state of California, LTD Broadband was deemed to be in default of the $187,506,059.70 in total RDOF support it won to serve 76,856 locations.
LTD’s Petition for Partial Reconsideration sought reconsideration of the Order, but only with respect to ETC designation in the state of California. However, LTD Broadband’s recent filing requests that the petition be withdrawn because “it has become apparent that LTD will not be able to obtain [ETC] designation for the required census blocks within a reasonable timeframe to allow it to meet its RDOF obligations.” In a May 2022 decision, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) denied LTD’s request to rehear the CPUC order which rejected “LTD’s Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity and request for ETC designation in California.” In its FCC withdrawal request, LTD notes that it “continues to believe that this [CPUC] decision was premised on errors of both fact and law,” but nevertheless it “has determined that the broad discretion afforded to the CPUC by the California courts makes it unlikely that it could obtain reversal of that decision.”
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 513 Winning Bids (10th RDOF Authorization)
June 14, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 513 winning bids. This is the tenth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. A list of the authorized winning bids is available as Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice. Attachment B contains a list of RDOF defaulted bids – winning bids associated with winning RDOF bidders or their assignees that have notified the FCC that they do not intend to pursue all or some of their winning bids in a state.
The authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of June 2022.
The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize 88 RDOF Winning Bids
May 25, 2022 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced they are ready to authorize support for 88 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids.
This is the tenth set of RDOF winning bids that are ready to be authorized. A list showing each winning bid ready to be authorized, the corresponding long-form applicant, each winning bid’s total amount of 10-year support, and other details is available as Attachment A to the Public Notice.
Also, Attachment B is a list of defaulted bids in Georgia (Trailwave Fiber Inc.), Iowa (Farmers Mutual Cooperative Telephone Company), Oklahoma (Terral Telephone Company), Tennessee (Newport Utilities), Texas (Valor Telecommunications of Texas, LLC dba Winds.), and West Virginia (GigaBeam Networks, LLC).
FCC staff reviewed the long-form applications associated with the winning bids, and determined they met all legal, financial, and technical requirements. To be authorized to receive the listed support amounts, however, each RDOF winning bidder must submit acceptable irrevocable stand-by letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters for each state where they have winning bids that are ready to be authorized prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on June 9, 2022. The FCC will continue to review RDOF long-form applications on a rolling basis, and will announce other approvals of long-forms in future public notices. Additional information on broadband providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available on the FCC’s RDOF auction website: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 830 Winning Bids (9th RDOF Authorization)
May 12, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has announced it has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 830 winning bids. This is the ninth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. A list of the authorized winning bids is available as Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice. The authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of May 2022. The first service obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.
Minnesota Telecom Alliance Supplements Petition to Deny LTD Broadband’s RDOF Funding In Minnesota & Iowa
May 9, 2022 – The Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) has filed a third supplement to the petition filed by it and the Iowa Communications Alliance seeking to deny LTD Broadband, LLC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I Auction long-form application. In their original Petition To Deny, filed in March 2021, the two groups’ contend that LTD Broadband simply does not have the experience, resources, and general wherewithal to meet its RDOF broadband network deployment obligations in Minnesota and Iowa. LTD Broadband won RDOF support to serve 102,005 locations in Minnesota ($311,877,936.40) and 12,916 locations in Iowa ($23,184,786.30).
The recent third supplement enters into the FCC’s record a petition filed by MTA and the Minnesota Electric Association with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) regarding LTD’s Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC) status in Minnesota. Specifically, they request that the Minnesota PUC initiate a proceeding to revoke LTD’s expanded ETC designation and deny LTD’s funding certification for 2023. Arguments in their petition rely heavily on facts that have emerged out of a recent decision by the South Dakota PUC which denied an LTD request to expand its ETC designation to include 7,481 RDOF supported locations in South Dakota. The South Dakota Commission concluded LTD lacked the ability to build and operate the broadband network contemplated in its South Dakota RDOF bid. MTA and the Minnesota Electric Association claim “[n]ewly available facts will similarly show that LTD cannot meet the far more extensive commitments it made to qualify for RDOF funding for approximately 102,000 locations in Minnesota.”
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize $200 Million In RDOF Support For 2,324 Winning Bids
May 3, 2022 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced they are ready to authorize support for 2,324 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids. This is the ninth set of RDOF winning bids that are ready to be authorized – $199,336,695 to fund new broadband deployments in 26 states and the Northern Mariana Islands to over 230,000 locations. A list showing each winning bid ready to be authorized, the corresponding long-form applicant, each winning bid’s total amount of 10-year support, and other details is available as Attachment A to the Public Notice. According to the FCC, so far, the RDOF program “has committed over $5.2 billion for broadband deployment to 3 million locations in 47 states and the Northern Mariana Islands.”
Also, Attachment B to the Public Notice is a list of defaulted bids in Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia. The census blocks containing the defaulted RDOF bids will potentially be eligible for other broadband funding programs.
For this ninth set of ready-to-be-authorized RDOF winning bids, FCC staff reviewed the long-form applications associated with the winning bids, and determined they met all legal, financial, and technical requirements. To be authorized to receive the listed support amounts, however, each RDOF winning bidder must submit acceptable irrevocable stand-by letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters for each state where they have winning bids that are ready to be authorized prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on May 17, 2022.
The FCC will continue to review RDOF long-form applications on a rolling basis, and will announce other approvals of long-forms in future public notices. Additional information on broadband providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available on the FCC’s RDOF auction website: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904.
FCC Fines LTD Broadband For Violating RDOF Auction Rules On Prohibited Communications
May 3, 2022 – The FCC has issued a Notice Of Apparent Liability For Forfeiture against LTD Broadband LLC for repeatedly engaging in prohibited communications of its bidding and bidding strategies during the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I Auction, and its failure to timely report such prohibited communications. The FCC has proposed LTD pay a forfeiture of $100,000. LTD, a fixed wireless broadband service provider, was the single largest winner of universal service support in the RDOF Phase I auction. As explained in the NAL, the FCC alleges LTD apparently violated the FCC’s auction rules on prohibited communications by willfully and repeatedly engaging in prohibited communications of its bidding, bidding strategies, and bidding results to Cox Communications, Inc. via LTD’s investment agent, RJM & Company, LLC. Also, LTD apparently violated the FCC’s auction rules by failing to report these communications to the FCC within the required five-day reporting window. LTD has 30 calendar days to pay the forfeiture or submit a written statement seeking reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 1,345 Winning Bids (8th RDOF Authorization)
April 15, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has announced it has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 1,345 winning bids. This is the eighth Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. A list of the authorized winning bids is available as Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice. Some of the authorized winning bids include those made by Firefly Fiber Broadband; Centranet, LLC; Forked Deer Connect, LLC; Mediacom; Midwest Energy Cooperative; OzarksGo; Peoples Telecom of Kentucky; and Windstream.
The authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of April 2022. The first servie obligation that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is the deployment of broadband service to 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025. The broadband service must meet the standards for which support was received (i.e., speed levels and latency). After that, these RDOF support recipients must achieve the following broadband service deployment obligations: 60% of locations in a state by December 31, 2026; 80% of locations in a state by December 31, 2027; and 100% of locations in a state by December 31, 2028.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize $313 Million In RDOF Support For 557 Winning Bids
March 25, 2022 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced they are ready to authorize support for 557 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids.
This is the eighth set of RDOF winning bids that are ready to be authorized – $313 million in ten-year RDOF support “to fund new broadband deployments in 19 states bringing service to over 130,000 locations.” According to the FCC’s News Release, so far, the RDOF program “has provided over $5 billion in funding for new deployments in 47 states to bring broadband to over 2.8 million locations.” A list showing each winning bid ready to be authorized, the corresponding long-form applicant, each winning bid’s total amount of 10-year support, and other details is available as Attachment A to the Public Notice.
For this eighth set of ready-to-be-authorized RDOF winning bids, FCC staff reviewed the long-form applications associated with the winning bids, and determined they met all legal, financial, and technical requirements. To be authorized to receive the listed support amounts, however, each RDOF winning bidder must submit acceptable irrevocable stand-by letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters for each state where they have winning bids that are ready to be authorized prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on April 8, 2022.
The FCC will continue to review RDOF long-form applications on a rolling basis, and will announce other approvals of long-forms in future public notices. Additional information on broadband providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available on the FCC’s RDOF auction website: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904.
FCC Denies RHMD, LLC’s ETC Waiver Petition – RHMD, LLC Will Lose $18.3 Million In Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Support In Georgia
March 25, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has issued an Order denying a waiver request submitted by RHMD, LLC that sought a waiver of the FCC’s June 7, 2021 deadline requiring each Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction long-form applicant to demonstrate that it has been designated as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) in each of the geographic areas for which it seeks to be authorized for RDOF support. The Bureau denied the waiver petition after determining RHMD “failed to engage in good faith efforts to pursue and obtain the required ETC designation and deny its petition.”
RHMD won $18,303,843.20 in 10-year RDOF support to deploy broadband service to 6,943 locations in Georgia. As a result of the decision to deny the ETC waiver request, RHMD is in default on its winning bids in Georgia. The FCC will eventually release a public notice officially announcing the default and loss of $18.3 million in RDOF support.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Authorizes RDOF Support For 5,223 Winning Bids (7th RDOF Authorization)
March 15, 2022 – The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has announced it has authorized Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction support for 5,223 winning bids. This is the seventh Public Notice authorizing RDOF support. A list of the authorized winning bids is available as Attachment A to the Bureau’s Public Notice. Many of the authorized winning bids belong to Bright House Networks, Charter, and Time Warner Cable. The authorizations were granted after the Bureau reviewed long-form application information for each authorized winning bidder, including letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters, and concluded the submissions were acceptable. Consequently, the Bureau has directed and authorized the Universal Service Administrative Company to obligate and disburse Universal Service Fund support to each winning bidder. Support will be disbursed in 120 monthly payments, beginning at the end of March 2022. The first broadband deployment milestone that must be met by the RDOF support recipients authorized by the Public Notice is 40% of locations in a state by December 31, 2025.
Rural Digital Opportunity Fund: FCC Ready To Authorize $640 Million In RDOF Support For 952 Winning Bids
March 10, 2022 – The FCC’s Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Wireline Competition Bureau, and Office of Economics and Analytics have announced they are ready to authorize support for 952 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I auction winning bids.
This is the seventh set of RDOF winning bids that are ready to be authorized – $640 million in ten-year RDOF support for “new broadband deployments in 26 states bringing service to nearly 250,000 locations.” According to the FCC’s News Release, so far, the RDOF program “has provided $4.7 billion in funding to nearly 300 carriers for new deployments in 47 states to bring broadband to almost 2.7 million locations.”
A list showing each winning bid ready to be authorized, the corresponding long-form applicant, each winning bid’s total amount of 10-year support, and other details is available as Attachment A to the Public Notice. Attachment B contains a list of default bids. These are bids that RDOF winners or their assignees have notified the FCC that they do not intend to pursue. RDOF support will not be authorized for those bids, and the winning bidders and assignees are in default and may be subject to forfeiture penalties.
For this seventh set of ready-to-be-authorized RDOF winning bids, FCC staff reviewed the long-form applications associated with the winning bids, and determined they met all legal, financial, and technical requirements. To be authorized to receive the listed support amounts, however, each RDOF winning bidder must submit acceptable irrevocable stand-by letters of credit and Bankruptcy Code opinion letters for each state where they have winning bids that are ready to be authorized prior to 6:00 p.m. ET on March 24, 2022. The FCC will continue to review RDOF long-form applications on a rolling basis, and will announce other approvals of long-forms in future public notices. Additional information on broadband service providers set to receive RDOF Phase I auction support and RDOF funding amounts by state are available from the FCC’s RDOF auction website: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/904.
