PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- One of Rhode Island's top internet providers sued the McKee administration on Monday, accusing state officials of mismanaging the rollout of a $108 million plan for broadband expansion and relying on flawed data. Company officials at Cox Communications, which filed the lawsuit in R.I. Superior Court, are asking a judge to block the R.I. Commerce Corp. from proceeding with the plan. They argue Rhode Island will otherwise waste the federal money -- awarded by former Gov. Gina Raimondo's U.S. Commerce Department -- by building redundant broadband infrastructure. Cox's attorneys said in court documents that Commerce officials are also refusing to make public their underlying data, which they say would result in the state building "taxpayer-subsidized and duplicative high-speed broadband internet in affluent areas of Rhode Island like the Breakers Mansion in Newport and affluent areas of Westerly." "Rather than using taxpayer funds to ensure high-speed access to all Rhode Islanders -- including low-income Rhode Islanders in need -- the Commerce Corporation has devised a program that will benefit wealthy parts of the state already with high-speed internet," the attorneys wrote in the complaint. "It does so while keeping secret its own data, and refusing to consider Cox's speed data showing the opposite," they added. Commerce spokesperson Matthew Touchette said the agency "has not read the complaint, as we have not yet been served. "However, if you’d like Rhode Island Commerce’s position on issues previously raised by Cox Communications, please read our response to a request for a declaratory order," he added. Speaking with reporters Monday, Cox officials said they've been trying to work with the state on the plan for more than year. But they said state officials aren't listening to their concerns, and not giving them a realistic opportunity to challenge the process they said is wrong. "Their plan is flawed," said Stephanie Federico, Cox vice president of public and government affairs. "What we don't want to see is their taxpayer dollars wasted to build out to mansions and high-value homes that already have potentially multiple service providers." Cox officials point to federal data that shows 99.3% of Rhode Island has access to high-speed broadband, which they said gives the state among the best access across the country. But the state came out with their own mapping data earlier this year, showing far more unserved or underserved areas throughout the state. Cox officials said they're challenging 30,000 locations the state said are "underserved. Cox officials said they know the state's data is wrong because some of the locations are their own customers and they've done individual testing that show high-speed connections there. When the company asked the state to provide its underlying data, Cox officials were told to file a formal request under the state's Access to Public Records Act, they said. After filing a request, the state demanded Cox to pay $52,000 in exchange for the data, saying that's what it would cost for them to redact information they argued is exempt under the law, according to the lawsuit. Cox officials characterized their interactions with state officials as "extremely frustrating," saying they feel like they've been shut down whenever they raise concerns. They've ultimately decided to take the issue to court since talks have broken down, they said. "It's been a very difficult process," Federico said. Company attorneys also said the state has adopted an "overly burdensome and irrational scheme" for the company to try and challenge the veracity of the state's broadband data. The lawyers said it would require Cox to repeatedly send technicians to thousands of homes to test internet connections between the evening hours of 7 to 11 p.m. "Even if Cox dedicated every one of its technicians across the country at exorbitant expense to come to Rhode Island, it could not satisfy the Commerce Corporation's arbitrary and irrational testing challenge scheme," they wrote. Cox is being represented by attorneys at Whelan Corrente & Flanders LLP. The company has also hired veteran communications strategist Bill Fischer. "We don’t understand their motivation because they refuse to release the data to support their maps," Fischer said. The $108 million was awarded to the state through the U.S. Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, also known as BEAD, which was created by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. None of it has been spent on projects yet, as the state will have to submit a plan to federal regulators for approval. But Cox officials said they don't want that plan going to the feds with faulty data, saying that will ultimately result in unnecessary infrastructure projects down the road when the money starts flowing out. “This program may not have gotten a lot of attention, but mayors and elected officials in urban core communities should be concerned because their constituents are getting left behind,” Federico said. Federico said the state should focus instead on spending the money to expand access to the 0.3% of customers who they said don't currently have high-speed internet. She said the rest should go toward subsidizing internet services for Rhode Island customers, citing the recently expired federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which provided subsidies to customers during the coronavirus pandemic. "It would be an amazing opportunity to become the first state in the nation to have 100% access," Federico said. “It’s difficult to understand why the state of Rhode Island is attempting to build an internet highway on top of what we’re currently building while families who need support to access the internet are left behind,” she added. Eli Sherman ([email protected]) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook.