On June 6th, the Trump administration finalized their updated guidance on the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The changes, announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, changed BEAD from a fiber-priority program to be technologically neutral. This change means that all technologies used in internet deployment, such as low-Earth orbit satellites and fixed wireless networks, can apply for BEAD funds. The new guidance also removed some Biden administration regulatory requirements that the Trump administration criticized, such as hiring preference standards and environmental considerations in project deployment.
Under the new guidance, the lowest overall cost is the guiding principle for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approving state BEAD proposals. However, if an application’s cost comes within 15% of the lowest project cost proposed, other considerations will be reviewed. In addition, Secretary Lutnick rescinded the previously approved BEAD plans in the three states that had completed the proposal process, Louisiana, Delaware and Nevada, and now all 50 states have 90 days to redraft and resubmit their updated BEAD proposals. In addition to project approval changes, the NTIA is attempting to accelerate the NEPA permitting process for BEAD projects from several months to one to two weeks.
The BEAD program was the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s (IIJA’s) main broadband internet expansion program, providing over $42 billion to states for the expansion of highspeed internet service to rural and underserved regions. Despite the record investment towards broadband expansion, no projects funded by the BEAD program have broken ground.
The NTIA’s updated BEAD guidance may be found here and the NTIA fact sheet highlighting the major changes may be found here.
For more information, please contact John Chambers.