Verizon, T-Mobile Overstate Claims With $43 Billion at Stake

  • Administration is set to roll out broadband internet program
  • Inflated claims of fast service jeopardize bids for funding

City of Gerlach informational sign.

Source: Education Images/Getty Images

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Tiny Gerlach, Nevada, looks like the ideal place to receive some of the $42.5 billion in federal funds that President Joe Biden has targeted to provide internet access to underserved areas.

There’s just one catch: The town of 161, gateway to the state’s Black Rock Desert, already has broadband access, according to a government map showing that T-Mobile US Inc. provides service there. If that’s true, Gerlach is unlikely to be eligible for help from the once-in-a-generation program.