SHLB: Don’t Limit Anchor Institutions for BEAD
The NTIA asked states to revise their list of anchors as part of its new program rules.
WASHINGTON, June 10, 2025 – The Schools, Healthcare, and Libraries Broadband Coalition is urging the Commerce Department not to disqualify swathes of community institutions from receiving broadband funding.
The agency released Friday new rules for its $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program that require a host of changes, namely an additional round of bidding for all states and territories. The new guidance also requires states to “revise their list of eligible Community Anchor Institutions to ensure their designations conform with the statutory definition of a CAI as established by” the Infrastructure Act.
CAIs are eligible for BEAD-funded infrastructure if they currently have access to speeds less than 1 gigabit per second upload and download. The Infrastructure Act designated some CAIs, like schools and libraries, but under the Biden NTIA states were allowed to propose other types of entities if they served communities in a similar way.
“In some neighborhoods, it’s not the school, library, or health clinic – but rather another anchor institution – that facilitates broadband use and serves as the community’s gathering place to work, learn, or seek care,” SHLB Executive Director Joey Wender said in a statement Monday. “That’s why we call on NTIA to ensure that state and local leaders have the discretion to identify and connect the full suite of anchor institutions that serve their constituents.”
The Infrastructure Act specifies that community anchor institutions include schools, libraries, hospitals and other healthcare clinics, public safety entities like fire and police departments, colleges and universities, and public housing organizations. It also includes a catch-all definition of other entities that can be considered CAIs: a “community support organization that facilitates greater use of broadband service by vulnerable populations, including low-income individuals, unemployed individuals, and aged individuals.”
That’s the definition NTIA said it would now “narrowly interpret” as it reviewed states’ revised plans. Many states proposed additional categories of CAI under the definition, which the Biden NTIA approved. For example, Ohio included senior and childcare centers and Vermont included churches, correctional facilities, public parks, and general stores, which the broadband office said commonly host events and group meetings in the state.
The agency said it would “closely review” all CAI submissions and “reserves the right to reject any CAI designation.”
States will have to request edits to their initial proposals, which include the CAI definitions, within 30 days of Friday. They have 90 days from Friday to complete the additional bidding round and submit a list of winners to the NTIA for approval.
When announcing the new rules, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said “President Trump promised to put an end to wasteful spending, and thanks to his leadership, the American people will get the benefit of the bargain, with connectivity delivered around the country at a fraction of the cost of the original program.”
