Nebraska worries raised about funding for rural broadband expansion
Wider rural broadband deployment remains a long-term goal in Nebraska. (Getty Images)
LINCOLN — Nerves are fraying among those seeking to expand broadband service across Nebraska due to funding uncertainty caused by recent actions by the Trump Administration and the Legislature.
However, a state official said he isn't worried that the largest program, the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, enacted by the Biden Administration to bring high-speed 'internet for all,' would be impacted.
Patrick Haggerty, director of the Nebraska Broadband Office, said Wednesday that his office continues to take applications for the first-round of BEAD grants while it awaits 'new guidance' on the distribution of those funds.
Despite the cancellation Friday of a $1.25 billion 'digital equity' training program by the Trump Administration, Haggerty said he has seen 'no indication' that the $405 million in BEAD deployment funds sent to Nebraska is going away.
'Getting universal broadband across Nebraska is not at risk in any way,' he told the Examiner.
On Friday, states were informed that the $1.25 billion Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program was being cancelled after President Trump labeled the program 'racist and illegal' and unconstitutional.
'No more woke handouts based on race!' Trump posted on his Truth Social account.
States were told that the program used 'impermissible and unconstitutional racial preferences,' according to the news site Broadband Breakfast, which reported that at least one state, Vermont, was weighing whether to legally challenge the cancellation.
In a statement last week, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., called it 'absolutely insane' that Trump had cancelled a program because it included the word 'equity.'
She said she had drafted the equity program to 'close the digital divide' by helping seniors access the internet and providing laptops for 'middle schoolers in rural districts.'
The Trump edict eliminates $6.5 million in grants for Nebraska that were intended for nonprofit groups to train and educate people on how to better utilize high-speed internet services and even how to repair computers.
The program targeted eight 'covered populations,' including veterans, the elderly, those living in rural areas and members of racial or ethnic minorities.
But additional worries have been spawned by the Nebraska Legislature's efforts to close a state budget shortfall.
On Tuesday, the Nebraska Public Service Commission ordered that the $20 million-a-year Nebraska Broadband Bridge Act be 'held in abeyance' due to the expectation that the funds, which provide incentives for companies to expand high-speed internet into remote areas, will be diverted by the Legislature to help close the state budget gap.
However, BEAD remains the bigger worry among some involved in broadband deployment, that it might be cut back or eliminated as part of Trump Administration efforts to reduce 'fraud, waste and abuse.'
There's been speculation online and by the Wall Street Journal that the BEAD program could undergo dramatic changes by shifting up to $20 billion of the grant funds to the StarLink satellite internet service tied to the world's richest man, Elon Musk.
Haggerty, the Nebraska broadband czar, said despite the funding uncertainty, 'we're not going to let that slow us down.' The deadline for the first round of grants is Friday. He declined to speculate on when the first grants would be distributed.
He added that the state's BEAD funding should be enough to provide broadband to the state's unserved and underserved areas despite the suspension of the Broadband Bridge program.
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