Federal Municipal Network Support Declining, Warns Experts

Experts expressed concern that federal support for municipal broadband is limited, prompting uncertainty about future funding and operational sustainability. Tyler Cooper, editor-in-chief of Broadband Now, said that Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants are less promising for municipal broadband deployments despite initial promises. Cooper expressed concern that BEAD rules and requirements may not favor municipal networks, potentially favoring larger providers. The Biden campaign made bold promises to encourage local solutions to the digital divide, “explicitly stating that the community broadband networks would be prioritized,” said Cooper. “One of the major things that they promised was to remove state-level barriers that restrict the development of municipal broadband.” “We have essentially received none of those things,” he concluded.