BROADBAND LIVE

Broadband Breakfast on June 25, 2025 – Driving Towards Better Broadband

The Maine Connectivity Authority is driving connections all across the state during a five-day-long program to connect with community partners and gather important insights for the next phase of their work. This Broadband Breakfast Live session will examine MCA President Andrew Butcher's journey around the state, along with past successes and future desires for MCA. How are community voices being incorporated into the MCA’s broadband expansion efforts? What lessons have been learned from earlier phases of the MCA’s work? How will insights from this statewide journey influence MCA’s future broadband access planning?

Panelists

• Maggie Drummond-Bahl, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Maine Connectivity Authority
• Mia Purcell, Manager of Economic Development, Community Concepts Finance Corporation
• David Bresnahan, Infrastructure Grant Manager, Maine Connectivity Authority
• Other panelists have been invited
• Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Maggie Drummond-Bahl is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Maine Connectivity Authority, a position she has held since May 2022.  Maggie led the digital equity planning process for the State of Maine and authored the Maine Digital Equity Plan, which was accepted by NTIA in February.  In her role at MCA, she leads execution of the digital equity strategy and supports a team charged with building and strengthening partnerships with communities, organizations, agencies, policy makers, funders and others. 

Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.

BEAD

Texas Asks Feds for More Time to Meet BEAD Deadline

HOUSTON, June 24, 2025 – A surprise 90-day deadline from the federal government has broadband officials working around the clock, but Texas broadband director Greg Conte, citing legal constraints and scale, said Tuesday his office has already asked Washington for more time.

“We have engaged with NTIA. We've actually submitted an extension waiver to them requesting that the shot clock in Texas be moved back,” Conte said during a keynote kicking off main day events of the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston.

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2025 – Updated rules for the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program make it easier for non-fiber applicants to compete for funding. But because of the way the law standing up the program was written, experts say state broadband offices’ final spending plans might end up being similar to what they would have been under the old rules.

Telecom company accused of showing ‘a disregard for the Commission’s authority’

Trusty Sworn In As FCC Commissioner

The Republican will debut at an FCC meeting Thursday.

NATO: If he were a part of the British government, would he be known as Gen. Adam Cassady? At this week’s NATO summit in The Hague, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) was to arrive with a new plan for how the United Kingdom intended to reach the goal of spending 5% of GDP on defense. (President Trump has asked the NATO allies to increase defense spending from 2% to 5% of GDP annually.) Starmer wants Downing Street support for rural broadband deployment projects to count as defense spending. “It could allow the UK to hit NATO’s new defense spending target of five per cent of GDP without committing any further public money,” the Telegraph reported on June 17.

Evidently, the Starmer government would consider Project Gigabit’s $6.8 billion program budget as the fiscal equivalent of a Royal Air Force squadron of F-38B Lightning fighter jets. Project Gigabit is the UK’s version of the U.S. BEAD program run by acting NTIA administrator Adam Cassady. The UK’s goal is to reach 99% of premises with gigabit speeds by 2032. Downing Street has other ideas for reaching the 5% defense threshold: Local policing ($23.6 billion), offshore wind grants ($408 million), and bridge strengthening and the Lower Thames Crossing ($1.36 billion). Former UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who served under PM Boris Johnson (Con.), didn’t think much of Starmer’s plan. “When I was at the [Ministery of Defense], the Treasury even tried to include spending on asylum seekers against my budget. Nearly all these tricks are actually against the rules set out by NATO and none of these funding streams fool the Americans, nor deter an enemy,” he said. (More after paywall)

SPECTRUM

EchoStar Fulfilled Last Commitment in Deadline Extension Deal, Company Says

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2025 – EchoStar has already met a deadline to begin getting 75 percent of new subscribers in certain markets on its own mobile network, the company said. 

The company had committed to onload new customers in certain areas onto its network, as opposed to connecting them via deals with AT&T and T-Mobile, in exchange for the Federal Communications Commission extending buildout deadlines elsewhere last year.

The music platform's audiobook feature allegedly exploits a loophole in federal regulations.

Research focus will be on closing the digital divide.

House version appears to have stalled out.

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2025 – House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said Tuesday he hopes the AI moratorium will pass in the Senate, emphasizing the need for a federal standard to regulate AI development and ensure U.S. leadership in the AI race.

Speaking at a Media Institute luncheon here, Guthrie responded to a question from Broadband Breakfast about the inclusion of the 10-year AI moratorium in the final reconciliation bill, and whether Congress would pass the legislation before the alleged July 4 deadline.

A rural-first approach would address the core equity and produce tangible, far-reaching benefits for all Americans.

Officials say LEO providers could skirt performance benchmarks others must meet in half the time.

VIDEOS FROM SPEEDING BEAD SUMMIT

Videos from Speeding BEAD Summit Available to Breakfast Club Members, Broadband Community

Keynote Addresses

• Bob Latta, Congressman, Ohio’s Fifth Congressional District

• Erin Houchin, Congresswoman, Indiana's Ninth Congressional District

• Jacky Rosen, Senator, Nevada

 

Panel 1: How Are States Thinking About Reasonable Costs Now?

The BEAD program originally allowed states to set their own high-cost thresholds when deciding whether to fund deployment through fiber, wireless, or satellite. Reports that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick might seek to deploy a federally-required high-cost cap might redirect funds towards “lower cost” solutions, particularly low-Earth orbit satellites, have raised questions. What are the pros and cons of a federal cap?

Panel 2: Finding the State Versus Federal Balance in BEAD

The design of the BEAD program under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act gave states considerable leeway to design and implement broadband builds. Will the Trump administration change this state-led approach? Many federal and state lawmakers are warning against changes to BEAD. But many broadband providers say they would welcome relief from some onerous rules surrounding BEAD deployment.

Panel 3: Reacting to the New BEAD NOFO

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has promised to release a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for BEAD on June 6, with applications from state entities due within 90 days and funding awards to be approved by the end of 2025. Lutnick has previously emphasized the need for "technologically agnostic" solutions and finding "the cheapest way” to get broadband to Americans. How are these promises reflected in the new NOFO? How does it differ from the 2022 NOFO? This panel will address the implications for BEAD.

Panel 4: Building, Maintaining and Adopting Digital Workforce Skills 

By whatever name, successful broadband deployment efforts require digital adoption and digital training. For one, artificial intelligence has created a new need for AI Skills Training. This session will explore how workforce training initiatives - creating, maintaining and adopting digital skills - encompass the full spectrum of competencies needed for the digital infrastructure economy. How should training programs integrate AI literacy? How do networking, infrastructure deployment, customer service, and cybersecurity skills play a part? How can workforce programs funded through BEAD ensure that communities thrive in the digital future?

Lightning Talk: "Building on the Backbone: How States Can Leverage Past Work to Accelerate BEAD Success"

As states restructure their broadband programs to meet BEAD requirements, they don't need to start from scratch. This lightning talk by Ready.net will highlight how states can make the most of the groundwork they've already laid - whether through mapping, stakeholder engagement, or local coordination. By identifying and activating existing assets, states can move faster, reduce duplication, and build smarter.

• Presented by Ready.net

BEAD’s recent policy notice narrowed qualifications for funding opportunities.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether the $9 billion-per-year Universal Service Fund is Constitutional.

Former senior policy advisor to Sen. Ben Ray Luján steps into state role at critical time.

Seeks to establish hub in U.S. Virgin Islands.