In a filing presented to the FCC, Resound Networks, LLC has asked for a waiver of obligations concerning broadband delivery on tribal lands in Arizona and Oklahoma.
Resound has asked the FCC to recognize that it should be released of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) obligations in the 21 census block area because a service provider has already been engaged to provide assistance and Resound says its participation would be redundant and wasteful.
The ISP contends that duplicate funding and overlapping jurisdictions could make it more difficult for the Cocopah and Tonkawa Tribes to successfully use funds and deliver broadband services to their populations. Resound has asked for permission to give up to 21 census blocks in this territory without being penalized.
Resound states that it has met with Tribal leaders to discuss the RDOF situation and claims that there is good cause to grant a waiver that would be in the public interest. The company asserts that “NTIA did not follow up sufficiently with FCC and USDA before awarding funds to tribes to identify potential duplication of federal funding.”
The ISP says that its aim is to make sure that the Tribes get the digital connectivity they need while simultaneously avoiding a scenario where tax dollars are wasted on duplicative federal funding. According to Resound, the coordination of funding agencies and providers has numerous players operating in a small sphere.
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