On 7 December 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced providing USD 310.7 million funding for Resound Networks to deploy high-speed internet service in rural areas. Funding is authorized for Resound Networks following the Phase I Auction of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Funding will facilitate the company to provide broadband internet service in 7 states. Funding will be awarded over 10 years in equal payments as long as the company meets all deployment milestones.

RDOF was launched in January 2020 by the FCC to expand broadband deployment in rural America (see related state act). The first phase of the fund targeted areas that are wholly unserved with a fixed broadband service. The budget allocated for Phase I was USD 16 billion. FCC’s reverse auction based on a competitive bidding resulted in a total of USD 9.2 billion funding for Phase I. The remaining USD 6.8 billion that was not allocated will be rolled over into the Phase II auction. Over 300 service providers participated in the Phase I auction and a total of 180 bidders won auction support.