United States Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick told his staff yesterday that he wants to make changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program guidelines to make the program “technology-neutral,” opening the path for what the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has defined as “alternative technologies.”
The Wall Street Journal reported the news, saying that Lutnick wants to institute “new rules that will make it easier for Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite-internet service, to tap in to rural broadband funding.”
Secretary Lutnick’s comments to his staff indicate that federal broadband funding may face changes under President Donald Trump’s administration. The changes to BEAD — including a move toward more alternative technologies — were discussed even before the administration was sworn in on January 20.
Yesterday, the state of Texas announced that it was pausing its allocation of the federal State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, citing “ongoing realignment to meet the priorities of the new administration” as the reason for the move.
In January, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum ordering federal agencies to pause the allocation of all federal grant funds. The memorandum was blocked by Judge Loren AliKhan of the United States District Court in Washington, D.C. and then rescinded by the OMB.
Earlier in January, the NTIA (still under President Joe Biden’s administration) issued final guidance on alternative technologies for BEAD funding.
Starlink, a satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is among the alternative technologies considered in the BEAD funding guidelines. Last month, T-Mobile and Starlink announced a partnership that will offer satellite service on mobile phones.
