Roth: No State Net Neutrality, Affordability Laws for BEAD Participants

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2025 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is telling states that participants in the agency’s $42.45 billion broadband grant program will have to be exempt from certain state broadband regulations, the agency’s top official said Tuesday.

NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program participants would be exempt from state laws mandating net neutrality rules or price caps for low-income customers, throughout their entire footprint within that state.

“To protect the BEAD investment, we are clarifying that BEAD providers must be protected throughout their service area in a state, while the provider is still within its BEAD period of performance,” she said. “Specifically, any state receiving BEAD funds must exempt BEAD providers throughout their state footprint, from broadband-specific economic regulations, such as price regulation and net neutrality.”