New Dataset Reveals Impact of RDOF Defaults on Each State

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) is a program created by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) under former Chairmen Ajit Pai during the first Trump administration. The program was designed with two goals: 1) to extend broadband networks into unserved rural areas while 2) expending the fewest number of federal dollars possible. To accomplish this, RDOF used a “reverse auction” to select winning applicants (ISPs) that requested the least amount of federal funding to deploy broadband in eligible rural areas. This approach encouraged applicants to competitively lower their grant requests and, in theory, would close the digital divide at the lowest cost to taxpayers. However, recent data show that this theory may not have translated well into reality.

[Janie Dunning serves as the leader of the Show Me Broadband Coalition, where she works on state and national broadband policies in partnership with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Drew Garner is the Director of Policy Engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Reid Sharkey is the Community Broadband Specialist and Research Associate at the Benton Institute.]