Cox files $108 million lawsuit against Rhode Island over statewide internet plan

A tug-of-war over the McKee administration's proposed use of $108 million in federal "internet for all" dollars has evolved into a lawsuit by Cox Communications against Rhode Island. Cox is seeking to stop the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation from using a "flawed mapping and challenge process to build redundant broadband internet infrastructure in some of Rhode Island’s wealthiest communities ... while ignoring residents truly in need of better broadband service and financial assistance to pay for it." Put another way: Cox alleges that Commerce plans to spend "millions of dollars building internet infrastructure in ... [areas] where residents already have access to high-speed internet." Cox asserts Commerce is using "inaccurate and manipulated broadband maps and data to support their plan," and seeking to charge the company $52,000 for a "public-access" to its data. The McKee administration − including Commerce Secretary Elizabeth Tanner − have not yet responded directly to the newly filed lawsuit. Spokesman Matt Touchette said, "Rhode Island Commerce has not read the complaint, as we have not yet been served." But he said the agency's position on issues previously raised by Cox Communications is spelled out in a September 11 denial of Cox's July request for waivers from what it characterized as "exorbitantly" time-consuming and expensive Commerce-imposed testing requirements in order to make its case. The word "competitive" seems to be at the heart of the dispute. Citing the Broadband Availability Map published by the Federal Communications Commission, Cox says, 99.3% of Rhode Islanders have access to high-speed internet. For purposes of the BEAD program, an “unserved” household is defined as having less than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speeds (“25/3”) and “underserved” as having less than 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload speeds (“100/20”). Cox alleges that Commerce’s flawed mapping process "reclassified 30,000 homes as underserved,'' including homes in wealthy areas, and it is challenging those determinations.