'Misleading': RI Commerce officials lambaste Cox Communications over lawsuit

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- R.I. Commerce Corp. officials lambasted Cox Communications Tuesday after the telecommunications giant filed a lawsuit against the McKee administration over the rollout of a $108 million plan to expand high-speed internet.

The state's leading broadband company filed the lawsuit Monday in R.I. Superior Court, accusing state officials of using inaccurate data for maps that show where high-speed internet is accessible across the state.

Cox attorneys argued the faulty data could result in the state inappropriately spending the funds -- awarded through the U.S. Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program -- on future broadband infrastructure in affluent areas of the state where it already exists.

Commerce spokesperson Matthew Touchette fired back Tuesday, saying Cox failed to participate in the planning process and didn't raise concerns during the appropriate time. He described the state's plan as being "built on fairness, transparency, and a commitment to maximizing the impact of this historic federal investment."

He also called the Cox lawsuit "both misleading and unsupported by facts."

"Let’s be clear about what’s behind Cox’s lawsuit: It is an attempt to prevent the investment of $108.7 million dollars in broadband infrastructure in Rhode Island, likely because it realizes that some, or even all, of that money may be awarded through a competitive process to other internet service providers," Touchette said in a statement.

The dispute is quickly sparking a war of words that will likely play out in similar fashion in court. Cox spokesperson Bill Fischer described the state's pushback as "disappointing, but unfortunately not surprising."

"For over a year Cox has presented facts and evidence as to why Commerce’s broadband plan is flawed and these arguments have been ignored at every turn," Fischer said. "To state today that Cox didn’t raise concerns is simply not factual."

The two sides also disagreed over how the $108 million can be spent. State officials interpret the federal rules as requiring the funds only to go toward improving high-speed broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of the state, "including areas that Cox claims are affluent."

"Whether an area is affluent or not has no bearing on the type of broadband service that is -- or is not -- available in that area," Touchette said. He also said the funds can't be used to subsidize internet bills, which is what Cox officials have said they'd like to see for at least some of the money.

Cox officials argue the underserved areas identified by the state -- which include Newport mansions and rich neighborhoods in Westerly -- already have access to high-speed internet and the state's data is simply wrong. They agreed at least a portion of the money must go toward underserved areas, but they point to federal data that suggests only 0.3% of the state falls under that definition.

As for subsidizing customers' bills, Fischer pointed to publicly available documents about the federal program that show the money can be spent on subsidies after new infrastructure build-out for unserved and underserved areas is addressed.

"The approved uses are literally sitting on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s website," Fischer said.

In an interview Tuesday, Gov. Dan McKee -- who chairs the Commerce board -- said state officials and members of an advisory committee put a lot of work into understanding the program and what Rhode Island wants to accomplish. The committee's members include former state Rep. Deb Ruggiero, who has advocated for municipal-run broadband networks.

"Cox is entitled to kind of challenge that," McKee said on 12 News at 4. "We believe what Commerce put together makes sense for the state and we'll look forward to kind of defending that position."

McKee also compared the action by Cox to recent protests lodged by another major company, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, over a health insurance contract.

"So that's normal process," he said. "We will work our way through."

Kim Kalunian contributed to this report.