Cox settles lawsuit against RI's broadband improvement program. What to know.

Cox Communications has dropped its lawsuit challenging how Rhode Island plans to use $108 million in federal broadband money. "The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation and Cox Communications are pleased to announce that the litigation between the parties has been voluntarily dismissed," the company and Rhode Island Commerce Corporation said in a joint statement. "Both parties have worked together to reach this resolution and are eager to move forward positively with a commitment to a shared goal of ensuring all Rhode Islanders have access to fast, reliable, and affordable internet." In the lawsuit, Cox argued that the state maps that determine where the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program money will be spent failed to account for all of the infrastructure already in place and underestimated internet speeds. Since then, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has ruled on Cox's challenges to the Rhode Island maps, and that has resulted in changes to where new systems will be built. Exactly how much changed and where was not immediately clear.