The Infrastructure Bill is clear: the $42.5 billion for broadband buildout should prioritize projects for the unserved. Specifically, states should prioritize projects where 80% of the locations served by the project are unserved (see § 60102 (a)(1)(B) and (h)(1)(A)(i)(I)). Only after certifying to NTIA that they can reach all the unserved can a state move on to underserved service projects, where 80% of the locations reached need to be underserved. I believe it will be impossible to reach all the unserved with projects that are 80% or more unserved without gerrymandering the project areas or changing the rules.
Really good point. Seems like it might give an edge to FWA.
All thanks to RDOF that badly screwed up the maps in a lot of rural counties.