Bloosurf sues T-Mobile over interference

For the past three years, T-Mobile, Inc, a telecom giant, has been intentionally interfering with the business operations of Bloosurf, LLC , a small broadband provider providing internet access to underserved rural communities in the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.   

Last week, Bloosurf took steps to stop it. 

On April 10, 2024, Bloosurf, LLC filed a federal court lawsuit (docket no. 8:24-cv-01047) against T-Mobile, Inc. and TDI Acquisition Sub, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile, Inc., in U.S. District Court for Maryland (Greenbelt division) seeking $116 million in damages.

The suit claims that T-Mobile has been distributing its 2.5GHz spectrum broadband on the Eastern Shore in a way that purposefully interferes with Bloosurf's existing 2.5GHz spectrum operations, e.g. by broadcasting at frequencies that Bloosurf has the sole right to operate in.  

Bloosurf further alleges that T-Mobile deceived both Bloosurf and the FCC who conducted tests in 2021 to determine the source of the interference, so that the source of the interference was not discovered until months later. Rather than remedy the interference, T-Mobile instead chose in 2021 to pursue the source of Bloosurf's allotted spectrum: its lease with several Maryland Universities which hold Educational Broadband Spectrum ("EBS").

Per the complaint, Bloosurf's EBS lease was not set to expire until September 2031, thereby guaranteeing that the company could continue service to its rural customers.  However, T-Mobile intervened and sought to "buy" the underlying EBS licenses from the Universities, so it could terminate the relationship with Bloosurf and obtain the critical spectrum rights for itself.     

This EBS lease was crucial to Bloosurf's operations, which included several state and federal grants, including a CAF2 grant by the FCC. The lease, the relationship with the Universities and Bloosurf's entire business operations is now in peril.  Meanwhile, Bloosurf has lost half its customers as a direct result of T-Mobile's spectrum interference.   

The lawsuit describes a decimation of Bloosurf's business, resulting in a net loss of over $116 million dollars in valuation and lost revenue.

Bloosurf