Colorado pulls $103 million in broadband awards from a provider accused of misusing grants
The cancellation comes as federal officials open a second round for $21 billion in leftover BEAD money, which could add nine months to the programme.
Colorado has rescinded more than $100 million in provisional Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) awards to Maverix Broadband after whistleblower complaints alleged "financial mismanagement and misuse of grant funds", StateScoop reported.
The Colorado Broadband Office received two complaints in May, froze payments on six open grants and found payments for services and materials that were not received, as well as unpaid vendors. It sought to recover $3.2 million in grant money, but Maverix filed for bankruptcy this month. The findings were referred to the US Treasury's inspector general and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
No BEAD contracts were signed and no BEAD money was paid. The $103 million covered about 10,000 locations, roughly 26 per cent of Colorado's provisional awards. Those locations will be rebid. "Our safeguards worked," said Sarah Tuneberg, the state CIO, but she warned the decision "could delay high-speed internet access to rural Coloradans".
A second federal round
Nationally, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said in September that states can run a "true-up" round for locations left unserved by defaults in other programmes, wrong coverage reports, changes to FCC maps or newly identified addresses. About $21 billion of the original $42 billion-plus remains after last year's lowest-cost "Benefit of the Bargain" reforms.
The guidance does not yet say whether leftover money can fund non-deployment work such as digital literacy, telehealth and cybersecurity, which the original rules allowed. The Benton Institute estimates the new round will add nine months or more to BEAD.
Colorado's case shows why grant oversight matters as much as grant size. Catching the problem before contracts were signed protected the money; the cost is time for the households still waiting.
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