Broadband industry groups have a variety of opinions regarding the new rules for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program.
After the new BEAD rules were announced on Friday — requiring a re-bidding process and technology neutrality — viewpoints from within the industry started pouring in.
On the positive side, WISPA – The Association for Broadband Without Boundaries President and CEO David Zumwalt said, “By prioritizing cost-effective, quickly deployable solutions that meet the IIJA’s baseline technical standards, the new Policy Notice eliminates the harmful delays — as well as the higher capital and operating costs — arising from BEAD’s prior positioning as a fiber-first program. It never needed to be, nor should it have been, that way.
“The new guidance opens the door to all qualified technologies that deliver reliable broadband — fixed wireless, fiber, satellite, and others — ensuring that unserved Americans can get connected faster and more affordably. This guidance returns BEAD to the intent of the IIJA and will benefit communities across the country. “
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) had a similar reaction to the new BEAD rules: “We welcome changes to the BEAD program that will make the program more efficient and eliminate onerous requirements, which add unnecessary costs that impede broadband deployment efforts.
“These updates are welcome improvements that will make it easier for providers to build faster, especially in hard-to-reach communities, without being bogged down by red tape. Delivering universal connectivity is a national priority, and these reforms move us closer to achieving that mission.”
The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) took a more neutral stance on the new BEAD rules, saying it wanted to examine the changes more closely.
“As this process moves forward, we will continue underscoring how fiber is the most reliable, scalable, and cost-efficient technology on the market and is uniquely positioned to serve as the backbone to our nation’s broadband infrastructure,” Gary Bolton, FBA president and CEO said in a prepared statement. “States have already made great progress on their deployment plans, and we look forward to working with them to connect America’s unserved and underserved communities – helping to close the digital divide.”
The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society offered perhaps the harshest — and fastest — critique of the new BEAD rules. “Through the BEAD Program, the Affordable Connectivity Program, and the Digital Equity Act, Congress initiated the most comprehensive effort in our history to close the digital divide,” said Benton’s Executive Director Revati Prasad.
“With these tools, we could have finally ensured that all Americans can access, afford, and effectively use reliable, high-speed internet. But over the last year, policymakers have weakened that commitment. Congress allowed the ACP to expire, raising the cost of broadband for 23 million American households. President Trump unilaterally ended Digital Equity Act programs that would have helped seniors, rural residents, veterans, and so many others develop the skills they need to make use of the internet to improve their lives.
“Now, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is shifting BEAD so rural America will once again be left stuck with slow, unreliable, and expensive satellite internet access. This is a betrayal of rural America.”
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) agreed: “Secretary Lutnick’s actions will cement the digital divide for decades,” said CWA Director of Policy Engagement Drew Garner about the new BEAD rules. “He is hurting our economic competitiveness, our healthcare and education, and our ability to work and stay connected with loved ones. He is denying rural Americans access to the modern economy and our increasingly connected world.
“Long-term infrastructure investment shouldn’t be cheap, it should be smart. Fiber-based broadband networks will last longer, provide better, more reliable service, and scale to meet communities’ ever-growing connectivity needs. NTIA’s new guidance is shortsighted and will undermine economic development in rural America for decades to come.”
New America and the Open Technology Institute (OTI) issued a statement about the new BEAD rules on Friday as well. Jessica Dine, policy analyst at OTI, said: “By forcing a rebidding process on an incredibly short timeline, the new policy notice is, in effect, undoing all of the states’ work on their bidding processes so far.”
“Despite NTIA claiming to want a balanced mix of technologies funded by BEAD, the new guidance directs states to compare all applications on the basis of project cost alone. This process will likely lead to rushed outcomes that overwhelmingly favor tech with the lowest upfront costs. It largely fails to account for network quality, price for consumers, or even long-term maintenance costs.”
