Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

On March 5, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing titled “Fixing Biden’s Broadband Blunders.” This title, chosen by wordsmiths in the Republican majority, hints at the policy direction the current Congress and Administration might take: undermining the progress the U.S. is making towards universal connectivity.

The trade group ACA Connects kicked off its annual summit with what’s on the forefront of everyone’s mind right now – the state of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. Changes to BEAD are imminent, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick plans to eliminate the program’s fiber preference. But Sen John Curtis (R-UT) didn’t talk about that in the opening keynote.

The Commerce Department is examining changes to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program aimed at expanding internet access around the country with new rules that will make it easier for Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite-internet service, to tap in to rural broadband funding, said people familiar with the plans. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has told staff he plans to make the grant program “technology-neutral,” the people said.

The BEAD Program is on course to ensuring that every location in the U.S. has fast, reliable, and affordable internet access over networks that can be easily upgraded to keep up with the connectivity demands of Americans for decades to come. Secretary Lutnick's reported meddling is likely to leave millions of Americans with broadband that is slower, less reliable, and more expensive—while at the same time surrendering US leadership in the global race for high-speed broadband. Americans deserve better.

Stephen Cox was enjoying retirement in Florida when the opportunity to become Indiana’s broadband director arose. Like Michael Jordan, Cox is back better than ever after his initial retirement. Unlike Michael Jordan, he did not have big shoes to fill—when he came back to Indiana, the state broadband office was just Cox and one other person. Cox said the $868 million Indiana received for their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program broadband expansion is “right in the ballpark” of what the state wanted.

As we patiently wait for news on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the U.S. Senate is pushing for legislation that could make it less costly for rural ISPs to apply for BEAD. Or so the industry hopes. Sens Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Mark Warner (D-VA) led a bill that would amend the Internal Revenue Service code so federal broadband deployment funding would not be considered taxable income.

Even though the U.S. Commerce Department agency responsible for broadband officially approved federal funds for Louisiana, Delaware and Nevada, those state broadband offices are unable go forward because an unrelated federal agency—the National Institute for Standards and Technology—has not done its routine check-off. Then-National Telecommunications and Information Administrator Alan Davidson approved Louisiana’s final proposal on Jan. 13, one week before Inauguration Day.

NRECA is urging the Trump administration to update federal broadband policies and programs to better support rural America’s access to high-speed internet and strengthen the economy, public safety, health and education. In letters to several new Trump administration officials—Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr—NRECA outlined how the federal government can empower co-ops to provide rural broadband by reforming key programs, regulations and funding mechanisms.

This policy brief examines the targeting of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a $42.45 billion federal initiative under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) aimed at expanding high-speed internet access the United States. The analysis links state-designated BEAD-eligible locations to key demographic indicators, focusing on “BEAD clusters” – census block groups where at least half of broadband-serviceable locations qualify for funding.

When President Joe Biden put $42 billion behind making high-speed internet accessible across the US, he committed to doing it the old-fashioned way—with miles upon miles of fiber-optic lines. That frustrated Elon Musk, who said his Starlink satellite-internet business could get rural areas online faster, at lower cost.