States $20 Billion Under Budget for BEAD So Far
AAPB's Gigi Sohn said she's trying to convince more Republicans to advocate for states keeping that money.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2025 – The 49 states that have reported their tentative Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program awards are collectively $20 billion under budget, according to data posted by state broadband offices. That’s nearly half of the program’s $42.45 billion in funding.
Those results are not set in stone, as the Commerce Department needs to approve preliminary results before contracts can be signed with grant winners. But spending doesn’t appear likely to increase, as the agency is focused on further pushing down deployment costs before giving the final go-ahead.
It’s not clear what will happen to BEAD money not awarded to ISPs for broadband deployment grants. States had been planning to use leftover money for “non-deployment” efforts like digital skills trainings or workforce development, but the Trump administration isn’t eager to see much of that kind of spending.
Member discussion