Capital Discipline Will Separate Successful BEAD Buildouts From Defaults, Panelists Said
The median terrestrial broadband provider will charge $50 to $60 per month, while some satellite providers charge significantly more, panelist said
WASHINGTON, March 18, 2026 — As broadband construction under the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program begins, subgrant agreement quality, capital discipline, supply chain costs, and AI policy uncertainty will determine which projects succeed and which ones default.
That was the message of panelists during the conclusion session of the BEAD Implementation Summit 2026 here on Wednesday.
After reviewing roughly 30 state subgrant agreements – contracts between state broadband offices and providers – Steve Coran, chair of the broadband and communications infrastructure practice group at Lerman Senter, a Washington law firm, said he found them nearly “uniformly problematic.” Louisiana was a rare exception, he said. Subgrant agreements must be investable, Coran said, wherein lenders and private equity firms must be willing to back them.
He outlined three specific concerns. States can currently reclaim, or claw back, 100 percent of funds already paid out to providers for any noncompliance, he said. Termination-for-convenience clauses let states exit agreements without consequence.
He added that restrictions on transferring agreements impede secondary market activity, of the buying and selling of broadband assets and contracts. Providers need such market activity to be able to restructure and scale their operations.
