BEAD

State Broadband Officers Still Face Delays in BEAD Approval, Implementation

Approvals by the National Institute of Standards and Technology are delaying deployment, officers said, although most don’t expect long permitting delays

Broadband Breakfast

Jan 21, 2026 — 4 min read

Photo of entrance to National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland, by NIST

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2026 — State broadband officers reported Wednesday that federal approval bottlenecks are still threatening to delay deployment of billions of dollars in broadband infrastructure funding, even as most states have cleared initial regulatory hurdles.

Five of the seven state officials participating in a Broadband Breakfast panel said they have received approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for their Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program plans.

But only Texas and North Dakota had secured the required financial approval from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).