Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Brian Stern dismissed a lawsuit by Cox Communications challenging the state broadband access plan. Stern ruled the lawsuit was better heard in federal court. (Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
Cox Communications failed in its initial attempt to block the rollout of the state’s $108 million high-speed internet plan. But the legal battle may be just beginning.
Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Brian Stern dismissed the lawsuit contesting Rhode Island Commerce Corporation’s state broadband access plan on Nov. 7, ruling that the legal battle is better addressed in federal court. The broadband plan hinges on funding, and rules, set out by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
R.I. Commerce, Cox Communications can’t connect on broadband access map
The administration’s $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program aims to bring high-speed internet to underserved communities in states nationwide. Rhode Island received $108 million, contingent upon a detailed plan — developed by Commerce — on how to use it.
Cox in its Sept. 23 lawsuit against Commerce alleges that the state’s plan relies on inaccurate and outdated broadband maps, and did not give Cox enough time to challenge the incorrect data.
Commerce has refuted the claims, in turn accusing the company of trying to undermine the state’s broadband infrastructure rollout plan to help competing internet service providers.
Stern declined to wade into the map debate.
Instead, the 10-page decision tosses the lawsuit based on jurisdiction. The state’s plan has already received preliminary approval from federal regulators, specifically Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information Alan Davidson.
Any challenge to the assistant secretary’s decision falls squarely under the purview of the U.S. District Court in D.C., Stern concluded.
“Cox Communications attempts to thread the needle between the approvals of the initial proposal and the final proposal by the Assistant Secretary, hoping to find a brief window where this Court possesses subject-matter jurisdiction,” Stern wrote. “However, no such window exists. As cited above, the Assistant Secretary must approve the initial proposal (and has approved the initial proposal), any changes to the initial proposal, and the final proposal, all while maintaining the ability to modify the challenge process and to reverse determinations made by the states throughout the challenge process.”
Stern offered another avenue to Cox to pursue legal action, expressly suggesting the company can file a lawsuit in federal district court in D.C.
Bill Fischer, a spokesperson for Cox, said in an email Wednesday that the company’s legal team was still reviewing Stern’s decision.
“That said, we are considering all options at this juncture including filing a claim in federal court,” Fischer said. “It is important to note that today’s decision does not dismiss our assertions or claims nor have they been litigated.”
Fischer also pointed to another statement in Stern’s ruling, which notes that Cox’s allegations, if true, “give this court pause.”
“If true, these concerns would mean that funds intended to provide broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas are instead going to be used in areas that already have sufficient broadband infrastructure, and no challenge to that plan was possible,” Stern wrote.
Matt Touchette, a spokesperson for Commerce, said in an email that the agency was “pleased with the judge’s decision.”
NTIA did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment on Friday regarding any other lawsuits it is facing over its broadband access plans and funding.
Cox is the fifth-largest internet service provider and largest private broadband company nationwide, serving 7 million homes and businesses across 18 states. In Rhode Island, it competes primarily with Verizon, as local internet service providers have largely disappeared, although Block Island began its own municipal broadband service in 2023.
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