Etheric Communications Defaults on Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Bids in California

The Federal Communications Commission announced that Etheric Communications defaulted on its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (Auction 904) bid. Auction 904 support will not be authorized for the winning bids in California. The FCC considers winning bidders and assignees to be in default for these bids and subject to forfeiture. The agency will refer these defaulters to the Enforcement Bureau for further consideration. The FCC also denied Wavelength LLC’s petition for waiver of the June 7, 2021, ETC designation documentation deadline. Wavelength has proposed to deploy gigabit, low latency service to more than 68,000 locations in California and Arizona. But on February 2, 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision denying Wavelength’s request for an ETC designation covering its Auction 904 winning bids in the state. As a result, Wavelength has been unable to obtain an ETC designation covering its winning bid areas in California. On this basis alone, Wavelength cannot be authorized to receive Auction 904 support in those areas.