EDITORIAL: ‘Free’ rural internet money goes missing in Nevada

The Biden-era effort to bring broadband to rural America has been a multibillion-dollar bust. A brewing scandal in Lovelock brings the matter home to Nevada.

More than three years ago, Congress allocated $42 billion under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program to ensure that every American household could connect online. Nevada’s share was $417 million. As of November, “not even one home has been connected with internet service as a result of a program,” the National Review reported.

The reasons are typical. Rather than ensure that the endeavor quickly and efficiently delivered on its expensive promises, congressional Democrats larded the legislation with mandates intended to advance various progressive goals regarding climate change, price controls, union favoritism and diversity, equity and inclusion that have nothing to do with the task at hand. Complying with the requirements demanded that providers descend into a bureaucratic morass.

Democrats insist that progress is right around the corner. Perhaps. But it’s more likely that the BEAD program would be a ripe target for Elon Musk’s government efficiency panel. There’s already evidence of apparent fraud as companies seek to tap the pool of “free money.”

The Reno Gazette Journal reported this month, “The state of Nevada gave $9 million to a Reno company to bring high-speed internet to rural Nevada, but the money has disappeared and it’s unclear what happened to it.” The plan involved digging trenches along Interstate 80 near Lovelock, 90 miles northeast of Reno, for internet cable.

Various contractors and subcontractors are now suing each other over payments related to the work, the paper reported. The missing money was part of an investment from the Nevada Department of Transportation that went to Uprise Fiber out of Reno in May 2023.

State Sen. Ira Hansen, a Republican whose large district includes Lovelock, said the contract between NDOT and the Reno company — approved by the state attorney general’s office and the top state transportation official — lacked the protections inherent in such agreements. “The contract itself is totally flawed,” he told the Gazette Journal. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” He added, “They did not require performance bonds, payment bonds, prevailing wage reports or even an inspection of the work.”

Notably, the paper revealed that when reports surfaced about the missing millions, NDOT created a revised contract with the Reno company. Mr. Hanson described that as a cover your rear move.

Neither NDOT nor the attorney general’s office would comment, citing pending lawsuits. That’s unacceptable. Millions of dollars earmarked for rural internet access have gone missing. Taxpayers deserve more than an arrogant brush-off from the agencies involved.