Largest Nevada BEAD Awardee Urges NTIA to Break Ground on Broadband Projects

WASHINGTON, May 9, 2025 – Sky Fiber Internet, the largest Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment awardee in Nevada, has called on federal officials to expedite broadband projects that have stalled in the state since December 2024.

In a letter sent Friday to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and NTIA-designate Arielle Roth, Sky Fiber CEO Garry Gomes said the service provider was “ready to roll” on hybrid fiber and fixed wireless internet deployments across rural Nevada but remains in a “holding pattern” due to federal delays.

Sky Fiber was the state's top subgrantee and was slated to receive $180 million – accounting for 43 percent of Nevada’s $416 million BEAD allocation approved under the Biden administration.

Sky Fiber has “already invested over $360,000 in equipment, engineering, and staffing,” Gomes wrote. “Our teams are finishing the final third of a 150-mile state facilities fiber project, and we are ready to roll those same construction crews into BEAD deployment immediately.”

Nevada, Louisiana, and Delaware, were the three states that received federal approval on their final spending plans in the final days of the Biden administration, but those plans have remained under a budgetary review since Trump took office.

“Delays not only risk higher costs and lost labor but also erode public confidence in what is arguably the most ambitious and promising broadband investment in our nation’s history,” Gomes wrote of the $42.45 billion BEAD program.

The BEAD program has been paused amid a federal review of its foundational rules. Under Lutnick’s leadership, the Commerce Department has announced plans to revise BEAD to “take a tech-neutral approach,” moving away from the original preference for fiber-optic networks. States are awaiting new guidance that was initially expected in mid-May but may now be pushed to June or July.

Gomes praised the Nevada Office of Science, Innovation and Technology’s “balanced, inclusive strategy” to achieve 100% statewide coverage using a mix of fiber, licensed fixed wireless, and low-Earth orbit satellite.

The company’s plea adds to a growing chorus of frustration from broadband providers across the country. In Louisiana, a coalition of contractors and fiber providers recently urged the NTIA to stop delaying project launches, warning that Internet Service Providers have made sizable private investments in anticipation of BEAD awards.

In its letter, Sky Fiber also asked NTIA to accelerate contract finalizations and guidance issuance, streamline federal permitting and environmental review, and support Nevada’s flexible tech-neutral model.

“This is not about politics—it’s about progress,” the letter stated. “We are ready, the state is ready, and most importantly, the communities we serve are waiting.”