Some RDOF Winners Seek Rejection of Starlink, LTD Applications for Review

Some winning Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction winners asked the FCC to reject or hold in abeyance SpaceX's application for review of its long-form application (see 2208100050). Viasat, which opposes SpaceX's bid, asked the FCC to open a new docket and allow "meaningful public comment," saying the company "bid well beyond its capabilities," in opposition comments posted Tuesday in docket 19-126. Others asked the FCC to do the same with LTD Broadband's request about its rejected application.

The FCC rejected SpaceX's Starlink and LTD's long-form applications in August, saying Starlink's technology was "still developing" and the amount the companies were preliminarily awarded "would not be the best use" of USF funding. Commissioners Nathan Simington and Brendan Carr expressed frustration about the decision then (see 2209120044). Viasat said recent Ookla data also showed "the performance of the Starlink system continues to backslide." SpaceX was "fully aware of the substantial evidence" that Starlink can't meet its RDOF performance obligations, it said. SpaceX didn't comment.

The long-form application "requires a provisional winner to demonstrate its ability to serve the specific locations that it bid and won," Viasat said: SpaceX "lacks the financial and other qualifications necessary to receive RDOF support." The Ensuring RDOF Integrity Coalition (ERIC) agreed and said the application for review contained "insufficient information to allow for an informed public discourse." The group asked the FCC to hold SpaceX's application for review in abeyance to "facilitate public review."

The FCC should "apply the same procedures here that it used in the Viasat application for review proceeding," said Adtran in a request for access to Starlink's confidential information, citing "significant portions" of its application that were redacted. Starlink's redactions leave others to "speculate as to what claims they may have made" and suggests it's "relying on undeployed technologies," Adtran said. The company said the commission "should not allow Starlink to use redactions as a shield to prevent the public from participating meaningfully in this critical proceeding."

TechFreedom disagreed and said Starlink's low earth orbit technology is "revolutionary" because it uses "varying frequency bands to drive down costs and provide true broadband and low latency." The RDOF auction "represented one of the last, best hopes for closing the digital divide," TechFreedom said. The FCC's order denying Starlink's long-form application, in which it called its technology "nascent," reflects a "lack of understanding of the suite of technologies involved in deploying such an extraordinary system," the group said: The decision was "arbitrary and capricious."

ERIC also sought to have LTD's application for review of its rejected long-form application in abeyance until a public review is established (see 2208110006). The group noted LTD's request was filed "entirely confidential with no public version available" and asked the FCC to extend the opposition and reply comments deadline. SpaceX and LTD's requests are "matters of public interest" because the companies preliminarily won a combined $2 billion in RDOF support, ERIC said, suggesting the commission issue protective orders to allow for a "meaningful opportunity to fully evaluate or oppose" the requests.