Universal Broadband

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.

Fiber vendors have long been banking on the promise of revenue opportunities via the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program and rural broadband expansion, but the hype is simmering down in light of fiber's uncertainty in the new administration. As a result, communications equipment vendors are eyeing greener pastures. For the most part, vendors are “being pretty quiet about the BEAD opportunity because so much is still up in the air,” said Dell’Oro Group VP Jeff Heynen.

Lawyers defending the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to manage a longstanding $8.1 billion broadband subsidy expressed cautious optimism ahead of the March 26 Supreme Court oral arguments in FCC v.

Community anchor institutions (CAIs)—such as schools, libraries, community health centers, and similar organizations—play a crucial role in offering free or affordable internet access to underserved communities. In many areas, the connectivity options offered by CAIs—whether on-site (via wired or wireless networks) or through remote programs like hotspot lending—are among the few affordable and reliable services available.

The United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development (RD), which is comprised of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS), Rural Utilities Service (RUS), and Rural Housing Service (RHS), is amending 14 program funding opportunities to remove references to the Biden Administration’s key priorities and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-related scoring criteria to bring them into compliance with the Executive Order, ‘‘Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing’’, issued on January 20, 2025.