Broadband Breakfast on November 5, 2025 - Broadband Permitting, Environment and BEAD

Full Event Video:

The NTIA is rolling out new tools and policies to speed up permitting and environmental reviews for BEAD projects. Among them are the new Environmental Screening and Permitting Tracking Tool (ESAPTT) and expanded categorical exclusions under NEPA — both designed to significantly reduce approval timelines. Still, state and local permitting, historical reviews, and environmental safeguards continue to pose challenges. Join our BroadbandLive to discuss how permitting, environmental compliance, and BEAD implementation are converging.

Federal Permitting Staff Reduced, Says NTIA Permitting Chief Jill Springer

The agency has been working to reduce federal permitting burdens for BEAD participants.

Broadband BreakfastJake Neenan

NTIA Looking to Speed Permitting for BEAD

The agency outlined the post-award federal permitting process in a webinar this week.

Broadband BreakfastJake Neenan

Panelists

• Jill Springer, Senior Advisor for Permitting, NTIA
• Michael Saperstein, CSO and SVP of Government Affairs, WIA
• Other panelists have been invited
• Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Panelist Resources

• BroadbandUSA Permitting Page
• Streamlined Environmental Review and Permitting Roadmap
• NTIA Federal Permitting Interagency Broadband Permitting Summit
• BEAD NEPA Resources
• Effective Permitting Checklist
• States are acting on permitting reforms for wireless infrastructure
• WIA testimony

Jill Springer is NTIA’s Senior Advisor on Permitting and Chief Environmental Review and Permitting Officer. In 2023, Jill returned to the Department of Commerce after almost ten years at the FCC to lead NTIA’s efforts to streamline environmental review and permitting for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and other grant programs.  

Mike Saperstein is the Senior Vice President, Government Affairs & Chief Strategy Officer for WIA, leading the association’s government advocacy at the federal, state and local level.  He previously held senior roles at Wilkinson Barker Knauer, USTelecom, Frontier Communications, and the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. WIA’s mission is to enable connectivity everywhere, and a predictable, proportionate and transparent permitting framework is essential to this mission.

Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.