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Round-Up for the Week of July 20-24, 2026

As Congress prepares to leave for the August recess, some broadband bills are getting attention. This week, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced seven bills spanning transportation, competition, and infrastructure issues. These bills now move to the full Senate floor for consideration later this year if time permits.

Two pieces of legislation in this group address broadband and communications: the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026 and the Disaster Communications Coordination and Preparedness Act.

The Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026 

The Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026 (S.4448) would amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the law that created the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, to cut red tape and increase transparency into the federal permitting process. The proposed legislation would direct the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information—the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)—to create a public dashboard that shows:

• The amount of BEAD grant funds each state and territory has spent; and
• The number of locations where broadband service has been made available using BEAD funds, and of those, the number of locations where someone is actually subscribing to internet access service.

The legislation was introduced by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and cosponsored by Sens Ben Ray Luján (D-N) and John Barrasso (R-WY). 

NTIA receives semiannual reports on states and territories' progress on BEAD deployment projects. Currently, NTIA has no requirement to publish this data. In the amended version of this bill, approved by the Senate Commerce Committee on July 22, the Assistant Secretary would be required to not only publish this data but to do so within 90 days of receiving it, adding a specific timetable to the original bill text.

The bill would also direct the Assistant Secretary to create a permitting tool to help all 50 states and U.S. territories (BEAD "eligible entities"):

• Identify the relevant Federal permit requirements for each of their BEAD subgrantees; and
• Monitor each subgrantee's progress toward obtaining Federal permits.

The amended bill text also includes a timetable for the new permitting tool usage by states: 90 days after a final proposal has been finalized between an eligible entity and its subgrantee, the eligible entity must use the permitting tool.

The bill would also amend the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which requires federal agencies to approve or deny applications to place wireless communications equipment on federally controlled land or buildings (called "communications use applications") within 270 days. This existing 270-day deadline is the baseline the bill builds on. The Accelerating Broadband Permits Act would add three distinct requirements:

1. Data Controls

Within 120 days of the enactment of the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act, the Assistant Secretary must develop controls to ensure that data is sufficiently accurate and complete for an executive agency to track how long it is taking to process each communications use application.

2. Analyze, Address, and Report on Delays

The Assistant Secretary would have to:

• Analyze the factors contributing to delays in processing communications use applications as the delays are occurring (not retrospectively);
• Take actions to address those factors; and
• Provide an annual report on those factors to four congressional committees: the Senate and House Commerce Committees and Committees on Natural Resources.

3. Alert System for At-Risk Applications

Within 120 days of enactment, the Assistant Secretary would have to establish a method to alert federal agency employees when a communications use application is "at risk of failing to meet the 270-day deadline" for approval/denial.

4. Minimum Broadband Project Costs

The Accelerating Broadband Permits Act would amend the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to add broadband infrastructure construction projects to the definition of "covered project" under the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (FPISC) framework—commonly known as the "FAST-41" permitting process.

To qualify as a "covered project" under the new provision, a project must:

1. Be subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—the federal law requiring environmental review of major federal actions;
2. Involve the construction of infrastructure for broadband; and
3. Be likely to require a total investment of more than $5 million.

Currently, there is no single public source that shows, state by state, how much BEAD money has been drawn down and how many locations are actually being connected. This legislation would create that resource. The bill aims to track both broadband "made available" and "utilized" at a location. A provider can deploy infrastructure to a location and report it as served, but the most important outcome is whether or not anyone subscribes to the service. Tracking subscription alongside availability is a stronger accountability measure than availability alone.

The amended version of the bill contains specific timetables for the above requirements, something the previous version lacked. These new time requirements could help to ensure the prompt release of the relevant data for NTIA's new resources and maintain public awareness of BEAD's progress. The overarching goal of the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act is to streamline and, hopefully, expedite the broadband deployment process under BEAD by increasing transparency and administrative efficiency.

What People Are Saying

After voting on the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act, legislators, industry, and nonprofit stakeholders weighed in.

Sen Thune said:

Kathryn de Wit, director of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ broadband access initiative, said:

NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association's CEO Mike Romano said:

The Disaster Communications Coordination and Preparedness Act

The Disaster Communications Coordination and Preparedness Act (S.4691) would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to improve awareness and coordination of Federal communications resources during disasters and emergencies. The bill was introduced by Sens. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on June 4, 2026.

This bill primarily concerns the Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS), a web-based system through which the FCC collects operational status and restoration information from communications providers during major disasters and subsequent recovery efforts.

1. Review of Disaster Information Reporting System activation notices.

Within 180 days of the enactment of the proposed legislation, the FCC must review (and, as appropriate, update) its procedures and practices for providing notices regarding the activation and deactivation of DIRS.

As part of this review, the FCC must consult with:

• Providers that submit reports in DIRS when the agency activates DIRS in geographic areas in which those providers provide service; and

• State, local, Tribal, and territorial emergency management and public safety authorities.

The FCC must also consider whether any changes to the format or content of a DIRS activation or deactivation notice would improve its usability for recipients.

The bill specifically states that it does not:

• require the FCC to adopt new regulations; or
• otherwise affect the FCC's discretion to determine when to activate DIRS.

2. Enhanced coordination with public safety entities.

The Disaster Communications Coordination and Preparedness Act directs the FCC to—within 18 months of enactment—evaluate the feasibility of enhancing its existing public safety liaison functions for the purpose of:

• serving as a clear point of entry for State, local, Tribal, and territorial officials seeking information on communications status during a disaster or emergency; and
• facilitating coordination between those officials and communications service providers before, during, and after a disaster or emergency.

The bill states that it should not be interpreted to:

• create a new reporting requirement or operational mandate for any provider of communications services; or
• require the FCC to implement any action based on its feasibility evaluation.

3. Develop disaster and emergency communications awareness materials.

The bill specifies the timeline and resources for the FCC to develop outreach materials on its disaster and emergency communications processes. Within one year of the bill's enactment, the FCC must develop and make publicly available plain-language materials to support awareness and understanding among State, local, Tribal, and territorial emergency management and public safety authorities regarding Federal communications and emergency coordination mechanisms during disasters and emergencies.

These materials must describe:

• The purpose and operation of DIRS, including how an activation of DIRS affects the operations of communications service providers and public safety authorities;
• The types of information that may be made available during an activation of DIRS, which shall include a discussion of:
  • communications status reports; and
  • the limitations of that information, including applicable protections for confidential or sensitive information;
• How to access communications status reports and other publicly available information derived from reports submitted during a DIRS activation;
• The Mandatory Disaster Response Initiative and how it supports coordination regarding, and restoration of, communications services during emergencies and disasters;
• Existing FCC resources and coordination capabilities, including points of contact and the 24-hour operations capabilities of the Commission, that may be available to State, local, Tribal, and territorial officials during emergencies and disasters; and
• General information describing communications capabilities and services that may be available to support public safety communications during emergencies and disasters, including how:
  • those capabilities may supplement or support other communications systems and coordination mechanisms described in this subsection; and
  • State, local, Tribal, and territorial authorities may coordinate with communications providers and the FCC regarding those capabilities.

Once again, the bill clarifies that none of these provisions require the FCC to adopt or modify regulations relating to DIRS or the Mandatory Disaster Response Initiative.

What They're Saying

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ranking Member on the Senate Commerce Committee, said:

When Will We See More Movement?

With Congress's summer recess beginning and the midterm elections looming in November, there just aren't many working days left for this Congress. A number of broadband bills await action in both chambers, but there just might not be time to debate them in 2026. Growing support for these efforts in 2026, however, could smooth their passage in the next Congress.

Quick Bits

• FCC Modifies Broadband Label Rules
• FCC Adopts Plan for C-Band Auction in July 2027
• Texas lawmakers call for audit of state’s broadband grant funding
• Google Is Building an A.I. Fence Around the Internet It Once Championed

Weekend Reads

• The Cost of Staying Connected in 2026
• Substance or Spectacle? AI Use and the Personal-Societal Risk Wedge
• Working remotely, unequally: Evidence from a digitally divided labor market
• Internet trust in Spain: Longitudinal evidence on socio-economic and digital adoption behavior

ICYMI from Benton

• GAO Documents How NTIA Handled $47.7 Billion in Broadband Grants
• FCC to Begin Review of Rural Health Care Program
• The FCC Proposes an Overhaul of How the Universal Service Fund Is Run
• FCC's 2027 Performance Plan Doubles Down on 'Build America'

Upcoming Events

Jul 24—Building an AI-Ready America: How AI is Creating Opportunities Across America's Workforce (House Education and Workforce Committee)

Jul 29—Protecting Schools and Libraries: The Cybersecurity Pilot Program and the Road Ahead (Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition)

Aug 6—August 2026 Open Federal Communications Commission Meeting (Federal Communications Commission)

Aug 10—Mountain Connect (Mountain Connect)

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

© Benton Institute for Broadband & Society 2026. Redistribution of this email publication - both internally and externally - is encouraged if it includes this copyright statement.

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