Trump Administration Delays Rural Broadband Program By 90 Days
Republicans haven't passed up many opportunities to criticize the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program for its slow rollout over the past few years. And now they're adding on another 90 days of delays.
In a notice sent to state broadband offices today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) gave states a blanket 90-day extension to submit their final proposals for BEAD money. The reason given in the notice is to 'improve efficiency, take a more technology-neutral approach, cut unnecessary red tape and streamline deployment.'
'Technology-neutral' is the key phrase here. BEAD had been written to prioritize fiber networks, but is expected to change its rules to favor satellite internet.
The only satellite internet provider that would currently qualify is Elon Musk's Starlink.
'By all appearances, it is to shift money towards Starlink,' Drew Garner, director of policy at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, told CNET.
Since Trump took office, states have been preparing for massive changes to BEAD, which was passed as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Starlink is expected to get as much as $20 billion in funding under Lutnick's new rules -- up from the $4.1 billion it was slated to receive previously -- according to a published in March by The Wall Street Journal.
Brian Allenby, senior director with the Maine Connectivity Authority, said his office has been in a holding pattern since Lutnick signalled impending changes to the program.
'We're ready to go. The ISPs are clearly ready to go. We're just kind of waiting for that program guidance,' Allenby told CNET.
Over BEAD's four-year process, fiber has always been the north star. It's the fastest, most future-proof technology out there, but it is also more expensive to install than satellite -- especially in extremely remote areas. That's where technologies like Starlink were supposed to fill the gap as an 'alternative technology' in areas where no other provider was bidding to offer service that meets BEAD's speed and latency requirements.
It's worth pointing out that Starlink hasn't proven it can meet those requirements itself -- something that will likely change with BEAD's forthcoming rule changes. The most recent data from Ookla shows that Starlink's speeds are around 79Mbps, which is well below the 100Mbps required by BEAD. (Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
Until recently, that mostly left Starlink out of the BEAD feeding frenzy. Musk even said on X in June that BEAD 'is an outrageous waste of taxpayer money and is utterly failing to serve people in need.'
The broadband experts I spoke with said it's ironic that the reason given for the 90-day delay is to speed up the process.
'I can't imagine anything less streamlined than a bureaucratic, 90-day delay, in which states essentially have nothing to do except wait to hear about the new rules that they're going to have to adapt to,' Garner said.
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