Lutnick Promises New Funding Notice for BEAD, Funds Released This Year

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2025 – The Commerce Department said Wednesday that it would release a new funding notice for the $42.5 billion broadband program funded under the bipartisan infrastructure law passed nearly four years ago.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, testifying before a Senate Appropriation subcommittee, promised senators on Wednesday that funding for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program would be released “by the end of this year.”

Lutnick said that the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency responsible for the BEAD program, would approve new applications for funding by the end of the year, so long as those applications were submitted within the 90-day window, were technologically neutral, and had the lowest per-location cost possible. 

He dodged questions from senators about whether the 90-day window would involve a rebidding process conducted by state broadband agencies.

Timing of Notice of Funding Opportunity

“My expectation is that we will put out the notice of funding opportunity shortly,” Lutnick said in response to a question about timing from Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Nebraska. 

Lutnick then suggested that his team would review state responses to that notice of funding within 90 days:

“We would expect everyone to apply within 90 days” of the release of the notice of funding, he said. 

“We're going to hold it hard at 90 days, and then I'm going to hold my department firm that within 90 days, if those applications are done without regard to favoring one technology over the other – just make sure we're giving the benefit of the bargain, what's the cheapest way to get broadband to these people, the most efficient way to do it – if they make that application, we will make all awards by the end of this year,” Lutnick said.

Fischer had asked, during the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriation Subcommittee hearing, if Lutnick had “any idea on the timing for revising BEAD program rules.”

Others questions about rebidding

When asked by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., if Lutnick would “agree that it would be a huge waste of money, and a disservice to Americans who need reliable internet service, to restart a bidding and proposal process,” Lutnick doubled down on his year-end promise.

He did not delve into the details of how a rebidding process might work.

“No, the Biden administration had 30 months and they did nothing,” he said. “We are going to say, within the next 90 days, as long as you are technologically agnostic and you agree to provide the broadband at the cheapest price per user then we will get it out the door by the end of calendar year 2025.”

“We’d like to have it faster than a 90-day process because the states have been working on this for some time,” Peters replied, noting that the state of Michigan’s BEAD plan was technologically neutral.

Peters asked Lutnick to work with him to get the funding for that plan approved, and Lutnick agreed.

Sen. Gerald Moran, R-Kans., also raised concerns about restarting the application process for BEAD funding, stating that “I hope they [internet service providers] don’t have to reapply again, refill out the application that they’ve spent a lot of time and money preparing.” 

Peters had said that “forcing states to start a process over would waste millions of dollars, add months, potentially, years of delays to shovel ready, broadband projects that are ready to go this summer, especially in states like Michigan, with a short building season." 

Lutnick promised that if the application was “technologically agnostic” funding would be approved quickly, though he didn’t specify what would happen to applications that didn’t meet that standard.

Reactions and further questions

Broadband Association USTelecom released a statement soon after Lutnick’s testimony, noting that “While there is a role for all technologies, most American rural communities and their state leaders have made clear that fiber will best prepare them to have their rightful place in America’s economic future.

“We cannot let them down with further delays, less reliable technologies, or slower speeds,” USTelecom said. “The states should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to these decisions, not Washington.”

After the hearing, as Lutnick walked out, Broadband Breakfast asked him if NTIA would propose a per-location cost cap as part of the notice of funding opportunity. Lutnick declined to comment.