FCC 'Improperly Heightened' RDOF Review, LTD Tells D.C. Circuit

The FCC "improperly heightened the standard of review that it had previously promised to apply to winning bidders in its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction and relied on vague and unwritten criteria to deny LTD Broadband hundreds of millions of dollars that it planned to use to deploy broadband to rural America," the company told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (docket 24-1017). In a reply brief Friday, LTD said the FCC applied a standard that was "more stringent than any it had ever applied" (see 2408060031). The commission "faulted LTD Broadband for not meeting granular criteria that nowhere appear on the face of its rules," LTD noted, adding the company "vigorously contests the FCC's conclusion" that it's "unqualified for RDOF support." LTD asked that the court to reinstate its long-form application, noting the FCC's "failure to even consider partial authorization for a smaller footprint is particularly remarkable."