Pew: Bad Data a Barrier to Shoring up Broadband Workforce

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2025 – The national broadband workforce is widely expected to be strained by an influx of projects funded by the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.  Faulty data is a major barrier to the industry adequately meeting that demand, according to a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ broadband access initiative.

Pew said it found 41 states that identified workforce shortages as a risk factor in their planning documents for BEAD or Digital Equity Act programs. A Fiber Broadband Association report last year estimated nearly 120,000 additional workers would be needed over the next 10 years just to replace people who retire or change industries, plus another nearly 60,000 to meet BEAD-induced demand.

The FBA study was conducted before the Trump administration changed BEAD’s rules in June and made it easier for satellite providers to win funding, but the program is still tentatively slated to fund fiber to more than 2 million locations nationwide.