Over the past few months, there has been a great deal of discussion about the apparent stall in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) rollout of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. And on April 22, NTIA officially delayed BEAD. In a notice attributed to the “Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information” (a position currently held by an acting official), NTIA stated:

In short, the Trump administration is going to change BEAD’s rules. And NTIA is allowing states 90 days to wait to see what those changes are.

Far from accelerating broadband deployments in rural areas, the NTIA's move is likely to slow down BEAD even more—just as some states are read to complete the work and connect U.S. households to fast, affordable, reliable broadband. 

This is the latest BEAD delay from the Trump Administration, but it certainly won’t be the last. Since President Trump took office, no states have won approval for their BEAD plans, and even states that have completed their planning work—like West Virginia—have pulled back to wait for NTIA’s expected changes. There’s no telling for sure how long it will take for states to adjust to the Administration’s new BEAD rules, but it could easily delay broadband deployments another year or two. That’s not acceleration, that’s a slowdown of a program that Republican lawmakers have complained has rolled out too slowly.

The NTIA BEAD Ripple Effect

All signs point to the Administration fundamentally restructuring BEAD, gutting key requirements around fiber, affordability, labor standards, and long-term sustainability. But many states built their grant programs around these requirements. By changing the rules now, NTIA will, in essence, invalidate states’ BEAD scoring systems, undermining provisionally awarded grants and potentially exposing states to lawsuits from ISPs that claim they would have won under the new rules.

And that’s not all. 

State broadband maps may no longer align with federal guidance. State laws may conflict with new BEAD rules. States may wind up overpaying for benefits ISPs no longer need to provide. And state plans may need extensive revisions.

And delays cost money. ISPs have already spent an estimated quarter of a billion dollars preparing BEAD applications. Rule changes will likely result in these ISPs having to prepare new applications in order to serve the same areas. For smaller ISPs, that may be a bridge too far, resulting in them not competing for BEAD awards.

Crews are idle, permits are expiring, materials are growing more expensive, and capital is frozen. Every delayed day means less money to connect families.

What’s the Benefit of the Bargain?

In Congressional testimony, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that under a revamped BEAD Program, all Americans will receive “the benefit of the bargain that Congress intended.” But will they?

Lutnick has reportedly been pushing for changes that will result in more BEAD awards going to satellite internet providers—and specifically to Elon Musk’s Starlink service. Previously, Starlink was expected to win awards totaling about 10 percent of all BEAD funding—Lutnick’s changes could potentially result in Starlink getting half of all BEAD money.

What will taxpayers get in return? Slower, more expensive, less reliable internet access. That’s no bargain for rural households. Starlink is already available throughout most of the country, but many consumers do not subscribe because the service is too expensive and less reliable than locally based, wired infrastructure. So “the bargain” here will be for slower, more expensive, less reliable service for people who’ve waited forever for real broadband.

Secretary Lutnick, Do Nothing—And Win

If Secretary Lutnick simply did nothing and made no changes to BEAD, he could preside over the most successful broadband deployment program in U.S. history. States are ready to make this happen. Louisiana, Nevada, and Delaware could have shovels in the ground today.

Under the current BEAD design, West Virginia was poised to bring fiber to every unserved location—and do that under budget. Vermont has applicants that will achieve 95 percent fiber coverage. Arkansas could bring fiber to over half its locations for less than a quarter of its total BEAD budget. How's that for a bargain?

These are remarkable, bipartisan achievements. What exactly is Sec. Lutnick trying to “fix”?

Throughout 2024, Trump-aligned Republicans slammed BEAD for not laying “a single inch of fiber” (conveniently ignoring the historic progress of other Biden-era broadband programs). But today, the only reason BEAD hasn’t connected a single household is because this Administration is standing in the way. Worse, it is preparing to replace fiber with satellite.

During its beta, Starlink was called “Better Than Nothing.” And it still is—for those with no other option. But with BEAD, we don’t have to settle for Better Than Nothing. We can build the best broadband network in the world.

Secretary Lutnick, get out of the way. Let the states finish the job.

Drew Garner is the Director of Policy Engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

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.

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