To this point, most letters from organizations and states urging a resumption of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program have been sent to Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce. Earlier this week, executives from five industry associations concerned about BEAD went over his head to the boss, President Trump.
The administration is considering changes to BEAD and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has extended the final proposal deadlines by 90 days.
The letter seems aimed at providing Trump with a way to better his predecessor rather than positioning moving the program ahead to be a tacit admission that the Biden administration had started a worthwhile endeavor. The letter does this by pointing out that no households have yet actually gotten broadband via BEAD and that the new administration can do better.
“[W]e urge you to both eliminate the unnecessary and burdensome program requirements imposed by the Biden Administration and enable the States to move forward quickly with implementation.”
The letter was signed by Jim Matheson (CEO, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association); Shirley Bloomfield (CEO, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association); Dave Stehlin (CEO, Telecommunications Industry Association); Jonathan Spalter (President and CEO, USTelecom – The Broadband Association); and Pat McElroy (President, WTA – Advocates for Rural Broadband). It was cc: to Lutnick.
The key for the letter to President Trump is to get BEAD moving. “Our members are the companies that have been the boots on the ground building, maintaining, and supplying the equipment for the broadband network infrastructure in rural America, and we cannot overstate the importance of getting the BEAD program on track,” the letter reads.
“These rural communities have waited long enough for next-generation broadband that will unlock massive economic opportunities, and they cannot afford more program delays. The BEAD program was designed for the States to carry out, and the States should remain in the driver’s seat, empowered to use their expertise in determining the best broadband technology solutions for their residents.”
Last week, two states — Georgia and Wisconsin — wrote to Lutnick requesting that BEAD move forward.
One letter that didn’t go to Lutnick went to U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (IL). It was from Travis McGlasson, the Chairman of the Board of The Illinois Waterway (ILWW) Ports Commission. He warned Durbin that changes to BEAD by the Trump administration could delay the riverfront project the commission manages by a year or more and compromise the state’s autonomy.
