The hits just keep coming for LTD Broadband. The Minnesota Telecom Alliance renewed an effort to block the operator from receiving millions in federal funding to deploy broadband in the state, arguing LTD lacks the technical, managerial and financial capabilities needed to deliver the promised coverage.
At issue is the $311 million in support LTD Broadband won in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction in 2020 to cover 102,000 residents in Minnesota. That money is set to be distributed over the course of 10 years, in annual installments of $31 million. In order to receive the funding from the FCC, the state must certify LTD as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier (ETC). Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved LTD’s ETC application in June 2021.
But the Minnesota Telecom Alliance now wants it to reverse course on the grounds that information has subsequently come to light indicating that LTD will not be able to deliver on its RDOF commitments. Specifically, it noted LTD has failed to receive ETC certification in seven of the 15 states where it won RDOF funding and the FCC has already declared the operator to be in default on over 30% of the 528,000 locations it bid on. These span the states of California, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Nebraska and North Dakota. However, the operator is notably fighting Iowa’s decision to deny its application.
Most recently, South Dakota’s Public Utilities Commission in February denied LTD’s application for ETC status to deploy FTTP in the state using RDOF funds. In its ruling, it stated “LTD did not provide sufficient evidence of similar business experience showing its ability to deploy its network and provide the supported services within a reasonable time frame” and that its “previous business experience does not indicate it will be able to provide the scale of services planned.”
LTD was slated to receive $46.6 million in South Dakota to connect 7,481 locations.
The Minnesota Telecom Alliance argued in a petition to the state’s PUC that “LTD’s lack of adequate technical, managerial, and financial resources would likely have far more adverse effects on LTD’s ability to meet its RDOF commitments in Minnesota, where LTD’s RDOF bid encompasses approximately 102,000 locations, 13 times the number of locations in South Dakota.” It urged the commission to revoke LTD’s ETC designation and deny to certify the operator to receive its 2023 funding allotment.
This isn’t the first time the Minnesota Telecom Alliance has sought to block LTD from securing its RDOF winnings in the state. Shortly after the close of the auction, the group petitioned the FCC in March 2021 to reject the operator’s long-form application.
Responding to the latest petition in a statement to MinnPost, LTD Broadband CEO Corey Hauer called the request a nuisance and argued the operator is showing “that deploying rural fiber is easier, faster and cheaper than the party line touted.”