WASHINGTON—The federal government launched a major initiative to provide high-speed internet service to rural Americans in 2020, dedicating $9.2 billion to entice companies to extend their networks to places previously deemed too costly to reach.
More than 18 months later, many of those rural communities are still waiting for broadband. That is because a little-known Las Vegas company that won a bid to implement the program missed filing deadlines and failed to secure regulatory approvals needed to receive the money.
