Montana’s Chief Operating Officer Blasts NTIA’s BEAD Implementation

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2024 - The Commerce Department agency responsible for administering President Biden’s federal broadband program has provided contradictory guidance, or no guidance at all, to state broadband officials. 

That was the message of Montana's broadband officer, Misty Ann Giles, in a testimony released on Monday ahead of Tuesday's hearing before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee. The agency, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is not scheduled to have a witness at the hearing.

House Republicans have maintained concerns about NTIA’s management of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program. These concerns were punctuated by Giles’ written testimony.

The Big Sky State – the fourth largest state with vast land and a population density of only 7.4 people per square mile – has been met with significant difficulties in the BEAD implementation process, beginning with its geography, said Giles, who is also the chief operating officer for the state's Department of Administration.

With a BEAD grant of nearly $629 million, Giles is concerned that they are not getting enough money to serve their unserved and underserved populations. 

The NTIA has been the root cause of other difficulties faced by the state, she said.

Giles noted in her testimony that individual states carry significant weight in the BEAD program as a result of the slew of requirements put forth by the NTIA to receive BEAD funding.

One such requirement is the use of an NTIA permitting system that will not be available for the next six to eight months. According to Giles, requirements like these are symbolic of the NTIA’s role in slowing down BEAD deployment.

In particular, the challenge process specifically is an example of dysfunction: The NTIA changed its challenge procedure several times as states were drafting their model challenge processes.

NTIA had not responded to a request from Broadband Breakfast seeking comment on Giles’ prepared testimony by time of publication.