Fiber Connect

Bottlenecks Slowing BEAD: Permits, Locates, Labor, and Materials

Fiber construction workers are increasingly being recruited by data center developers, tightening an already scarce labor pool.

Akul Saxena

May 21, 2026 — 2 min read

Photo of from left: Scott Jackson (moderator), National Market Manager, Graybar; Mark Davis, SVP Network Engineering and Construction, Highline Fiber; Bo Gresham, Chief Revenue Officer, Dycom Industries; Tommy Taylor, Chief Technology Officer, Buckeye Broadband; Bob Whitman, VP Market Development, Corning Optical Communications.

ORLANDO, May 21, 2026 — Fiber broadband operators building out networks under federal funding programs said Tuesday that permitting backlogs, locating failures, and rising material costs are adding cost and time to BEAD construction timelines, with margins thin and every dollar of construction spent under scrutiny.

Two federal broadband programs: BEAD and RDOF

Two federal broadband programs are driving an unprecedented volume of simultaneous permit submissions that has outpaced agency capacity, said Bo Gresham, chief revenue officer at Dycom Industries, the Florida-based telecommunications specialty contractor.