In letter to FCC, Altice USA says it will not deploy broadband in some Louisiana Rural Digital Opportunity Fund areas

Altice USA was awarded Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (“RDOF”) funding to deploy 100/20 Mbps service to 18 census block groups (“CBGs”) in Louisiana. Now Altice notifies the Federal Communications Commission of its plans to surrender its awarded RDOF areas in Louisiana. Altice had begun connecting unserved locations in its RDOF areas. By relinquishing these CBGs now, however, Altice is ensuring that remaining unserved areas are eligible to receive federal funding to support symmetric gigabit speeds through programs like NTIA’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (“BEAD”) Program. Altice understands that it will no longer be entitled to receive further RDOF support for the surrendered CBGs and that it may be subject to the applicable non-compliance rules. Altice reserves and retains its rights to seek relief from any penalties, including waiver of the Commission’s rules, as well as seek other relief as may be necessary.