BEAD

State Broadband Leaders Frustrated by Federal Changes to BEAD Program

States like Kentucky are including less fiber (58%) than in earlier BEAD proposals (85%).

Naomi Jindra

Naomi Jindra

— 3 min read
State Broadband Leaders Frustrated by Federal Changes to BEAD Program
Photo of (from left): Michael Baldino, Director and General Counsel of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute; Christine Hallquist, Executive Director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board; Meghan Sandfoss, Executive Director of Kentucky’s Office of Broadband Development and Kathryn de Wit, Project Director of Broadband Access at Pew Charitable Trusts

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 30, 2025 — State broadband representatives expressed frustration Thursday about the many recent changes made to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program this year. 

“This is an infrastructure project, and renting space on satellite is not,” said Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont Community Broadband Board, speaking at the AnchorNets2025 conference here hosted by the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition.

Hallquist said her team has spent long nights fielding repeated questions about Vermont’s BEAD application and facing pressure from National Telecommunications and Information Administration to include satellite coverage. 

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BEAD Michael Baldino Meghan Sandfoss Christine Hallquist Fiber LEO Kentucky Vermont Massachusetts

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