Don't Hit Pause Button on BEAD, Say State Broadband Officers

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2024 – The incoming Trump administration should not pause the government’s $42.5 billion effort to end the digital divide, a state broadband head said Thursday.

“I’m hoping that we don’t hit pause. If there are changes, you can make these changes as we go. I feel like the NTIA has done that the entire time, so that’s not a new thing for us. We can pivot,” said Brandy Reitter, head of Colorado’s broadband office. “We’ve been waiting so long to get to this point, I’d hate to see us hit pause on anything because we’re almost there.” 

She spoke at an America Enterprise Institute webinar on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, along with Dr. Tamarah Holmes and Veneeth Iyenger, the state broadband officers from Virginia and Louisiana, respectively.

Indeed, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency tasked with handling the program at the federal level, has made various updates as ISPs and other stakeholders flagged provisions as being unworkable. The agency updated its financing rules and domestic manufacturing requirements over the last two years. States will ultimately dole out the funding and have some flexibility to set their own rules within NTIA guidelines.

There’s been speculation the Trump administration might alter some BEAD rules the GOP has been strongly critical of, from its fiber preference to its low-cost service requirement for low-income households served on subsidized infrastructure. The latter might, like previous adjustments, not cause a tangible delay, but some experts have said changing how projects are to be scored or selected could be disruptive.

States have been moving ahead under the current rules, after years of mapping and planning efforts—the program was aimed at finding coverage for every home and business in the country without adequate broadband. At least 20 have begun fielding grant applications and three have published final spending plans, documents that will still need NTIA approval before shovels hit the dirt. Iyengar has said Louisiana expects approval in the near future.

“The important thing is: We have to keep going,” Iyengar said.

The panelists agreed some change was likely down the road, similar to the waivers that have already come down, and said they were ready to get the program across the finish line.

“Anything we can do to streamline the process and right-size the BEAD program” would be beneficial, Reitter said. She pointed to the procurement process, which she said was similar to standard infrastructure projects but could be more tailored to broadband deployments.

“I’m fully confident the next administration is going to do some process improvement, both within the NTIA but also policy-wise to ensure shovels are in the ground faster,” Iyengar said. “And we’ll adapt to it, just like anything else.”