Commerce Secretary Says Americans Need 'the Benefit of the Bargain' from BEAD

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2025 – Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick endorsed the purpose of a key federal broadband infrastructure program and said Tuesday night that Americans need “to get the benefit of the bargain” for it.

In a brief interview with Broadband Breakfast following President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, Lutnick was asked his thoughts on what’s next with the BEAD program, the acronym for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment fund.

The Commerce Department is responsible for administering the $42.5 billion federal broadband infrastructure program.

Lutnick replied:

“I think the BEAD program will get the benefit,” he began, and then continued, “What we want is for Americans to get the benefit of the bargain, OK? We want the lowest cost broadband access to Americans,” he said, repeating, “the lowest cost.”

Broadband Breakfast replied: “Does that mean satellite instead of fiber?”

“It could,” Lutnick replied. “It means whatever is the lowest cost to make that person’s home get broadband.”

Trump made no mention in his speech about broadband, the Internet, or infrastructure in general, although Trump did reference investment in data centers and semiconductor manufacturing facilities.

Lutnick’s comments to Broadband Breakfast come against a background of uncertainty regarding the fate of the BEAD program.

Although it not one of the programs that the Trump administration has targeted to cut or defund, recent questions have focused on the September 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s focus on fiber infrastructure, as well as some regulatory requirements put in place by the Biden administration during the May 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity associated with the law.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday afternoon that Lutnick had told his staff that he planned to make the grant program “technology-neutral,” which the Journal reported would free up states to award more funds to satellite-internet providers such as SpaceX’s Starlink, rather than mainly to companies that lay fiber-optic cables.

BEAD program rules already allow states to fund broadband infrastructure using fiber, wireless or low-earth orbit satellites. 

According to the Journal, however, Starlink’s funding under Lutnick’s anticipated changes could grow from a previously expected $4.1 billion to between $10 billion and $20 billion, the Journal reported.