It has been revealed that the Federal Communications Commission is ready to fund more than $1.2 billion through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. And if you go into details, then the 10-year program announced back in 2019 is aimed directly at expanding broadband Internet access for rural areas of America. And in a recent announcement from The Verge, the FCC announces that the wave of funding will eventually see 23 major broadband providers deliver Internet service to more than 1 million locations in 32 states at once.
What’s more, and perhaps even more important, is that the FCC also announced its Rural Broadband Accountability Plan. At its core, this is a program designed to ensure that recipients of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund funds properly spend the funds they receive, and do not squander them on their own needs that are not related to the implementation of the program. Within its framework, as already known, the Federal Communications Commission plans to double the number of inspections that it is going to conduct in 2022 compared to last year.
The new Rural Broadband Accountability Plan will streamline our audit and verification processes while also making the results of verifications, audits, and latency testing publicly available for the first time. These safeguards will ensure that program providers do their jobs. https://t.co/LlU0nLvOGM
— Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcelFCC) January 28, 2022
It will also subject major beneficiaries to additional on-the-spot checks, as well as random checks, to ensure that all organizational requirements are met. Moreover, the FCC also plans to publish the results of its audits, speed tests, and latency tests on the USAC website, among other things, so that the public can participate in the accountability process. “These new measures will help ensure that the vendors we fund through this program do their jobs with integrity,” said Jessica Rosenworsel, chairman of the commission.
And if you’re not aware, the official announcement of the Rural Broadband Accountability Plan was made shortly after the commission announced last year that it was beginning to actively take steps to “clean up” the Digital Opportunity Facility. in the countryside. Last July, the agency renegotiated winning bids in a program auction held in December 2020, overseen by former chairman Ajit Pai, after it received complaints that it was “ready to fund broadband access to parking and well-served urban areas” rather than rural communities.
