Infrastructure

The incoming Trump administration should not pause the government’s $42.5 billion effort to end the digital divide, said Brandy Reitter, head of Colorado’s broadband office. There’s been speculation the Trump administration might alter some Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rules the GOP has been strongly critical of, from its fiber preference to its low-cost service requirement for low-income households served on subsidized infrastructure.

New Hampshire's $90 million broadband expansion plan to provide access to 48,000 unserved and underserved addresses across 115 municipalities has surpassed the halfway mark, according to the Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA). As one of the first states to receive approval for its broadband expansion program as part of the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, New Hampshire awarded a total of $90 million in two rounds of funding, to connect a total of 48,016 homes and businesses by the end of 2026.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau adopted the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric, the most up-to-date and comprehensive source for identifying broadband serviceable locations (BSLs), as the basis it will rely on for generally verifying compliance with high-cost program deployment obligations and for adjusting the location obligations for certain high-cost support mechanisms.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded nearly $18 million to seven Tribal entities to expand high-speed Internet access and adoption. The funding from the nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $117 million in the second batch of grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity. The $1.5 billion Wireless Innovation Fund supports the development of open and interoperable wireless networks.

I’ve seen some vendors speculating that the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is finally going to unleash a big pile of spending in 2025. I don’t want to be the one to burst their bubble, but even if the BEAD grants continue to move on the current path, there will not be a big wave of construction from BEAD this year.

Brightspeed says that it has received $238 million in local, state, and federal grants and funds. The money, the company says, will expand the number of addresses passed by planned projects by 121,000 in 14 states. Brightspeed, which is based in North Carolina, says that it will continue to pursue state and federal grants. The funding:

It goes without saying fiber broadband is expensive to deploy – especially if you’re digging underground to get the biggest bang for your buck. But what if there’s another, less resource-intensive way to get fiber flowing (literally) to folks who need it? Aqualinq, fresh out of stealth mode, has come up with a technology that lets internet service providers deploy fiber optic cables via existing waterpipes. The company’s goal is to offer an alternative to aerial and buried fiber.

The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s (LEO) Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) is advancing efforts to bridge the digital divide with the announcement of the project application period for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Starting Jan. 9, internet service providers, communities and eligible participants will have the opportunity to submit project applications to bring high-speed internet to unserved and underserved locations across Michigan.

As we move into 2025, the Trump Administration and Congress have a unique opportunity to enact infrastructure policy reforms that will serve as a springboard for finishing 5G deployment and setting the stage for all the future G’s. This is critical to America’s economic success and the safety and vitality of our communities. With a mixture of common-sense reforms and strengthening existing rules, we can build on prior successes and set the stage for continued generational investments in wireless.