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  "description": "More than 85,000 locations meant to be served by the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund remain without service.",
  "path": "/missouri-wants-fcc-to-return-177-million-in-defaulted-grants/",
  "publishedAt": "2025-03-19T20:56:01.000Z",
  "site": "https://broadbandbreakfast.com",
  "tags": [
    "_a letter_",
    "_state law_",
    "_Section 1.513 of Missouri Revised Statutes_",
    "__Broadband Breakfast_ previously reported_"
  ],
  "textContent": "WASHINGTON, March 19, 2025 – Missouri Attorney General**Andrew Bailey** called on the Federal Communications Commission Monday to return $177 million in defaulted broadband funding to the state.\n\nThe funding, initially allocated through the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, was meant to connect 85,000 unserved homes and businesses in Missouri.\n\nHowever, after multiple providers defaulted on their commitments, more than 40% of the state's originally approved locations remain without service, Bailey wrote in _a letter_ to FCC Chairman **Brendan Carr**.\n\n“We request that [$177 million in] defaulted funds be deposited into our Missouri Broadband Fund,” Bailey wrote, adding that the state’s Office of Broadband would ensure swift and judicious distribution of funds.\n\nBailey’s request is backed by _state law_. Under _Section 1.513 of Missouri Revised Statutes_, effective August 2022, the state is permitted to reclaim federal funds allocated for broadband deployment when providers “default or otherwise fail to complete deployment as agreed upon with the federal government.”\n\nBailey pointed to New York's success in reclaiming federal broadband dollars as precedent. In 2017 and 2020, the FCC permitted New York to redirect unallocated Connect America Fund money toward its state-run broadband program.\n\nHowever, Missouri may face an uphill battle. As __Broadband Breakfast_ previously reported_, FCC funds don't sit in an account waiting for redistribution.\n\nAs former deputy chief of the FCC Wireline Competition Bureau **Carol Mattey** explained, “The FCC has a budget for RDOF, but that doesn’t mean USAC [the Universal Service Administration Company] has been collecting the money. USAC only projects disbursements to authorized recipients.” In other words, the FCC must explicitly decide to direct defaulted funds, rather than merely transferring unspent dollars.\n\nMissouri’s broadband struggles reflect deeper issues with RDOF implementation nationwide. Of the $9.2 billion awarded in the 2020 RDOF auction, over $3.3 billion has been defaulted on, although estimates vary.\n\nSome industry experts, including Mattey, have argued that less than 2% of “post-authorized” RDOF funds have actually been lost, with most defaults occurring before final approvals.\n\nEither way, the sheer volume of failed RDOF projects has left millions of Americans still waiting for broadband.",
  "title": "Missouri Wants FCC to Return $177 Million in Defaulted Grants",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-11T03:32:23.671Z"
}