NTIA

Advocacy Group Opposed to BEAD Restrictions on Opex

The Community Broadband Action Network said some members were nervous about accepting BEAD awards.

Jake Neenan

Nov 4, 2025 — 3 min read

Photo of Skylar Core, a worker with the Mason County (Wash.) Public Utility District, pulling fiber off a spool in 2021 from Ted S. Warren/AP

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2025 – A rural broadband advocacy group is asking the Commerce Department to reverse new restrictions on its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, saying it could prompt rural providers to back out.

Arielle Roth, head of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said last week that participants in NTIA’s $42.45 billion broadband expansion program would have to forego any federal subsidies to operate their BEAD networks.

The Community Broadband Action Network said in an email bulletin Tuesday that the rule puts some rural ISPs in a bind: either accept BEAD deployment grants and expand to more homes and businesses, or turn down tentative BEAD awards to avoid jeopardizing subsidy support they need to continue serving remote areas.

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NTIA BEAD Arielle Roth CBAN USF NTCA Shirley Bloomfield

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