What to Do With Remaining BEAD Funds, a.k.a 'Non-Deployment'?
As states complete their broadband spending plans, a fight is brewing over the remaining $21 billion.
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program's $42.45 billion was never just about laying fiber (or offering wireless or satellite service).
12 Days of Broadband 2025 (click to open)
- On the First Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: One Carr driving the Federal Communications Commission.
- On the Second Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Two superpowers racing toward AI superintelligence dominance.
- On the Third Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Three branches of government (and some formerly independent agencies).
- On the Fourth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Four programs with Universal Service Funds.
- On the Fifth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 56 states and territories without digital equity grants.
- On the Sixth Day of Broadband, my true level sent to me: Less than 6 months for a broadband permit.
- On the Seventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Data center-powered electricity bills up 70 percent.
- On the Eighth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 800 megahertz of spectrum to sell at auction.
- On the Ninth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: $9 billion + 12 billion (or $21 billion) in BEAD remaining funds.
- On the Tenth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Not even $10/month for an affordable connectivity program.
- On the Eleventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Through BEAD and broadband, 110 million locations served.
- On the Twelfth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: More than 1200 megahertz of spectrum for unlicensed wireless.
When Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, it explicitly authorized states to use BEAD funds beyond infrastructure deployment: Workforce development, digital literacy training, broadband adoption programs, connecting community anchor institutions, device subsidies and cybersecurity education. States spent two years planning how to leverage these so-called "non-deployment" dollars – now just “remaining funds – to ensure that new networks would actually translate into connected communities.
For example, Louisiana budgeted $510 million for telehealth expansion, precision agriculture training through LSU's AgCenter, and digital skills programs in correctional facilities. Florida earmarked roughly $200 million for workforce development, recognizing that its deployment goals depended on scaling up the labor pool. Maine's broadband authority argued it couldn't build infrastructure without first addressing its workforce shortage—and that non-deployment investments needed to proceed in parallel with construction.
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