RDOF Defaults Keep Coming; “Penny Wise, Pound Foolish”

Many stakeholders were shocked when it came to light that over a third of $9.2 billion in winning bids in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund broadband program were rejected after the Federal Communications Commission reviewed winning bidders’ long-form applications. And the tally of RDOF defaults isn’t complete yet. A Benton Institute analysis found that bids associated with nearly $112.8 million in additional RDOF funding are in default. The additional defaults represent nearly 1.9 million locations that had been expected to receive service. And more defaults could be on the way. The $112.8 million in “post authorization” defaults come on top of over $3.1 billion in the initial pre-authorization defaults, according to Benton Institute’s analysis.