Rep. Hudson Wants to Rewrite Many BEAD Requirements

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2025 – Too much red tape has slowed broadband deployment, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said Tuesday here at a Free State Foundation event, where he promoted new legislation to strip down the federal government’s flagship broadband program.

Hudson, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, used his keynote to tout the SPEED for BEAD Act — a bill he introduced this month to eliminate what he deemed “unnecessary and expensive regulations” within the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

“Some have said we ought to just end the program,” Hudson said of BEAD. “I don’t think that’s the case.” Instead, he argued for a stripped-down BEAD process that would scale back certain worker protections, affordability measures, and equity goals from the Biden-era program.

The bill would block the Commerce Department and state broadband offices from considering labor agreements, local hiring, climate standards, open access requirements, net neutrality-style network management rules, or diversity, equity and inclusion criteria when awarding BEAD funds.

The legislation would expand the program’s definition of “reliable broadband” to include technologies like low Earth orbit satellites and unlicensed fixed wireless, reversing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s current fiber-first approach under President Biden. Additionally, it would allow providers to remove high-cost locations from their project areas, a change that could shift funding away from the most difficult-to-serve communities.

While Hudson said the bill would speed up deployment, critics argue it could do the opposite. Former NTIA Deputy Administrator Sarah Morris recently warned that making any major changes to BEAD now could “delay broadband deployment for years and waste taxpayer dollars.”

Hudson voiced other concerns. He mentioned states pursuing broadband affordability mandates, warning any such mandates would undermine broadband deployment efforts at the federal level. He did not mention any state by name, although New York has successfully implemented $15 and $20 price caps for low-income broadband plans, causing states like California, Vermont, and Massachusetts to consider following suit.

Hudson briefly called for updating media ownership rules, which he said haven’t changed since the 1990s, and mentioned artificial intelligence as a future regulatory focus.