Infrastructure

It’s fairly obvious by now long-haul fiber and data center connectivity matter for AI innovation. But where do last mile fiber-to-the-premises deployments factor in? Network automation is perhaps the most apparent use-case, but fiber operators are also be well-positioned to house future AI edge applications.

In March 2025, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick launched an effort to change key elements of the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which Congress established in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

In early March, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick proposed changes to a federal broadband connectivity program that would favor Low Earth Orbit satellite connectivity, like Starlink, over fiber optic, a faster and more reliable form of internet access. Critics say Secretary Lutnick’s proposal to prioritize LEO will worsen the digital divide by abandoning rural communities without the long term economic benefits of fiber optic infrastructure.

Seemingly arbitrary decisions and reviews with seemingly pre-determined outcomes left Evan Feinman’s staff ‘constantly concerned,’ said Evan Feinman, the former director of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD). The arbitrary nature of decision-making left former staffers constantly concerned about their jobs. “My really high-talent staff was constantly concerned that they were going to be let go [for] any reason,” Feinman said.

America’s infrastructure is the foundation on which our national economy, global competitiveness, and quality of life depend. While often taken for granted when it is working properly, every American household or business immediately feels the impact of just one inefficiency or failure in our built environment. Since 1998, ASCE has issued a quadrennial assessment of the United States’ infrastructure networks, known as the Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.

The Trump administration is making changes to the Broadband Equity and Access Deployment Program (BEAD) Program that will benefit satellite internet providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink, but some state and federal officials worry the technology isn’t robust enough to connect Americans on a mass scale and at affordable rates. State and former federal officials, several of whom spoke to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity, described pitfalls with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s new approach, which gives more opportunities for satellite terminals that are initially inexpensive, but can

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has listed expanding affordable, high-quality broadband to every American as an objective in its 20222026 Strategic Plan. However, the combination of standing up new broadband programs and increasing access to broadband is an ongoing, nationwide challenge. The evaluation objective was to identify potential challenges for deploying broadband to underserved and unserved communities.

As state application windows continue to close for the $42.45 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program, a divide has emerged in provider participation. While some states have seen an influx of applications from internet service providers, others have drawn only a handful. Arkansas received bids to cover 96 percent of its BEAD-eligible locations, but Massachusetts, so far, has received just five applications proposing to reach about 50 percent of locations.

Community-owned broadband networks are thriving across the country. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Community Network Map shows a record 795 public networks delivering fast, affordable and reliable internet—hardly the “magical thinking” Annette Meeks described in her recent commentary in the Minnesota Star Tribune on the Connect Willmar Initiative.