Oklahoma BEAD Results May Take Years to Measure for Ag
Oklahoma’s earlier broadband investments suggest the economic effects of connecting underserved communities
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2026 – Oklahoma’s $574 million investment in broadband deployment could produce measurable economic gains in rural communities, but the state may need to wait years before it can determine whether the program worked.
That is the conclusion of Jayash Paudel, an associate professor of economics at the University of Oklahoma, in a Sept. 8 guest column published by The Oklahoman. Paudel examined the results of an earlier federal broadband program in Oklahoma and argued that policymakers should not judge the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program by its earliest results.
