What to Expect When You’re Expecting Rural Broadband

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), a Federal Communications Commission plan to spend over $20 billion to close the digital divide, drew interest from startups and household-name carriers alike. But several upstart winners have dropped off the winner's list because of financial problems or the inability to supply high-speed Internet access. Top 10 bidder Starry said that it is withdrawing from the RDOF program, under which it had been awarded nearly $270 million in funds to cover 108,506 locations in 9 states. Facing financial challenges, the startup fixed wireless access provider also said it will undergo a 50% workforce reduction and a hiring freeze. GeoLinks and Cal.net also defaulted on winning RDOF bids. And SpaceX’s Starlink funding was withdrawn due to concerns over the ability of Elon Musk’s startup satellite operator to supply fast enough services. Operators continue to face challenges in making a business case for delivering broadband service to a limited addressable rural subscriber base. Keeping tabs on their efforts and learning about other broadband programs can help IT managers. However, in the event of an RDOF dropout, the FCC said that these areas could be covered by other state and local funding programs.