Former NTIA Official: BEAD Changes Could Add Years to Deployment

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2025 – Any changes to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program could result in years of delays, a former National Telecommunications and Information Administration official warned Wednesday.

“To halt progress now, or worse, for states to redo their work would be disastrous. It would delay broadband deployment for years and waste taxpayer dollars,” said Sarah Morris, former deputy administrator of the NTIA, speaking during a House Communications and Technology subcommittee hearing.

Additionally, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito responded to the proposed changes in a statement Wednesday, saying: “While I am all for improving the program, I do not want to see West Virginia wait longer than is necessary or have to redo their proposals and application.”

Morris’s comments on Wednesday came just after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Wednesday the $42.5 billion BEAD broadband expansion program was under “rigorous review” and would be “revamp[ed] to take a tech-neutral approach.”

As of yet, it's unclear whether this could involve pausing the program, requiring states to redo their plans, or other actions. But, so far, the Trump administration's stagnation has caused efforts to stall in Louisiana, Nevada, and Delaware, three states that have had their final proposals approved.

It also caused Texas to pause all grants and contracts related to the state’s Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, and has caused multiple other broadband offices to cancel regularly scheduled events with subgrantees.

Morris emphasized what she continues to hear from states is a strong desire to move forward with the plans they have spent the past three years working on. 

“All 56 states and territories have completed key planning steps, and most are in the final stages of selecting providers and approving project funding,” she said.

“They've worked through the FCC maps. They’ve had their initial proposals approved. They've worked through their sub-granting process and internet service provider selection process,” she said. 

“States are on the one-yard line, and they just want to get into the end zone, get shovels in the ground, and start building. Anything that delays or creates redundant work will be frustrating for these state broadband offices,” Morris concluded.

During the hearing, subcommittee chair Sen. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., alluded to stripping affordability mandates, prevailing wage requirements and climate resiliency standards from BEAD’s provisions, as well as the program's preference for funding fiber-optic infrastructure.

So far, state broadband officers have been reluctant to comment without knowing the full extent of the administration’s proposals, although the Utah state office went public saying it plans to use more alternative technologies to serve remaining remote locations.

Others testifying before House lawmakers Wednesday emphasized the proposed changes could be made swiftly. 

ACA Connects President Grant Spellmeyer said: “The good news is I don't think we need to restart the process as has been suggested… I think we can move expeditiously to strip out the stuff that needs to be stripped out, and then get about the business of finishing it.”

“NTIA could grant waivers, either through NTIA or the Department of Commerce, that would allow states to proceed but remove some of the provisions,” he affirmed.

Greg Hale, CEO of LTC Connect, a rural broadband cooperative in Kentucky, urged lawmakers “not to make any more burdens,” emphasizing that Internet service providers “want to get the job done in Kentucky.” 

Still, he encouraged changes to permitting and BEAD’s low-cost mandates.

Correction: A prior version of this article identified Sen. Capito's statement as being on Thursday. The statement was on Wednesday. The article has been updated.