States Deemphasize Local and Rural Focus After BEAD Restructuring, Report Finds
Kaptivate analysis finds some states’ references to rural America dropped 80 to 100 percent
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2025 – State broadband plans revised under new federal guidance sharply reduced attention to broadband adoption, workforce development, and local partnerships, according to an analysis from Kaptivate.
Kaptivate examined how states revised their Initial Volume II proposals under the $42.5 billion federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program after the government introduced revised guidance in June emphasizing tech neutrality and lowest cost.
The findings show that references to fixed wireless and satellite technology increased by 169 and 409 percent, while mentions of rural America and local partnerships declined in more than half of states, a trend the report describes as systemic rather than partisan.
The analysis tracked changes in references to technology, performance, deployment timelines, geography, partnerships, digital adoption, and workforce development. “No topics saw a more dramatic decline in reference than ‘adoption’ and ‘workforce,’” it found.
States’ references to broadband adoption saw the steepest declines. West Virginia, Virginia, Alabama, Wyoming, Ohio, and Oklahoma each posted reductions of roughly 90 to 95 percent.
Pennsylvania and Colorado experienced the greatest decline in workforce related mentions, with declines ranging from 90 to 92 percent.
Initial proposals frequently emphasized partnerships with local governments, electric cooperatives, and nonprofits, but those references were widely deprioritized in final submissions, declining 40 to 70 percent overall.
A handful of states resisted the broader trend. Indiana, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi largely maintained partnership language, with Indiana posting a modest 4 percent increase.
Virginia and Maine stood out for strengthening their focus on rural communities, even as other states’ rural references fell by 80 to 100 percent. Virginia increased its rural mentions by 50 percent, while Maine sustained its focus.
Louisiana emerged as the clearest outlier. The state increased rural references by 660 percent and boosted emphasis on partnerships (+32%), adoption (+93%), and workforce development (+59%), moving in the opposite direction of the national shift.
Rather than relying on raw keyword counts, Kaptivate measured topic density, the frequency of a topic relative to a proposal’s total word count, allowing the firm to assess shifts in emphasis across proposals of varying length.
The analysis was produced by the Kaptivate team, including Victor Vassallo, Marni Hotchkiss, Jack Dragone, and Niva Sainju. The report also draws on research and perspectives from the Southern Rural Development Center, the Center on Rural Innovation, the Fiber Broadband Association, and Penn State University’s Christopher Ali.
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