On Wednesday, March 5, the Department of Commerce announced new BEAD program guidance taking a technology-neutral approach.

On Wednesday, March 5, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced new guidance for the Broadband Equity and Access Deployment (BEAD) program, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s (IIJA’s) broadband internet expansion program. The IIJA provided over $42 billion toward the BEAD but unfortunately, broadband projects under BEAD have been slow to receive federal approval and no construction has started on any BEAD projects.

Under the guidance, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which has oversight of the BEAD Program, is directed to take a technology-neutral approach to the BEAD program, meaning that states will be able to award funds to low Earth satellite-internet providers in addition to traditional fiber-optic cables. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also stated in the guidance that the Department of Commerce is considering additional efforts to cut red tape related to the BEAD program that will hopefully expedite BEAD project approvals.

Coinciding with the release of the updated guidance, the House Subcommittee on Communications & Technology held a hearing on issues surrounding BEAD and the lack of progress on its projects. During the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) introduced the Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment (SPEED) for BEAD Act, which clarifies that BEAD can utilize all broadband technologies, ensures that all program funds are used only for the deployment of broadband or workforce development and eliminates some BEAD program regulations that were issued under the previous administration, such as prevailing wage and climate change requirements.

In addition, last month, President Trump nominated Arielle Roth to lead the NTIA. Ms. Roth most recently served as Policy Director for the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee and has previous legal experience relating to broadband at the FCC and within the private sector.

For more information, please contact John Chambers.