Cruz Wants BEAD on Hold, Planning ‘Substantial Changes’

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2024 – Senator Ted Cruz wants the agency managing the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program to put the effort on hold, saying “substantial changes” to BEAD were on the way in the incoming Trump administration.

Cruz, R-Texas, set to be chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said he planned once assuming that position to “review” aspects the broadband expansion program that have drawn Republicans' ire, from its fiber preference and low-cost plan requirement to climate resiliency policies.

“It is incumbent on you to bear these upcoming changes in mind during this transition term,” Cruz wrote in a Thursday letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. “I therefore urge the NTIA to pause unlawful, extraneous BEAD activities and avoid locking states into” spending plans.