Easton Utilities requests to withdraw from RDOF Program

Easton Utilities requested to withdraw from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program for all 10 awarded census blocks in Talbot (MD). Easton Utilities has met the deployment obligations for the buildout, completing the mainline construction to make the service available. Over 400 locations have active service and are enjoying broadband internet that was previously not available in these rural areas. The reason for the request to withdraw is due to financial obligations incurred by the ongoing testing requirements. Through the reverse auction process, the total awarded funding was ~$180,000. After exploring vendors/systems that would enable the testing, truck rolls and manpower to implement, the cost to Easton Utilities will far exceed the RDOF funding received. The customers that have opted for our Managed WiFi service can be tested without any further expense (~44% of the total active users). If we were granted the ability to submit the VFi customers for the random sampling, the testing requirements would not pose a financial hardship.