BEAD Projects Could Require 86,000 Permits Nationwide, Analysts Say
ACLP researchers said that was likely an undercount
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2026 – Projects under the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program are likely to require at least 86,400 permits in all, and potentially many more, according to a new report from New York Law School.
The median terrestrial BEAD project will need something like 11 permits from eight different permitting authorities, and one in seven will require more than 20 permits, the law school’s Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute estimates.
