BEAD bets big on CBRS and 6GHz bands, so why is Congress gutting them?

The federal government needs to get its broadband policy straight. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration just overhauled a major broadband infrastructure program to shift billions in funding from fiber networks to unlicensed fixed wireless, or ULFW, a high-capacity Wi-Fi connection that's transmitted over the airwaves to a location. The problem is that, while billions are being invested to deploy ULFW, Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) is simultaneously moving to auction that same Wi-Fi spectrum to raise $85 billion in funds through the ongoing reconciliation package, which passed through the Senate on Tuesday, July 1. The government may be building its rural broadband networks on a proverbial foundation of sand. The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program is a historic federal investment designed to build broadband across the country and get every last American online. Under the program's new rules, ULFW providers bidding to provide coverage can apply for the same "priority" status as fiber providers, and areas that already have ULFW coverage are ineligible for subsidized buildouts. This could result in billions in funding going to wireless providers in return for years of guaranteed service. But with the spectrum these providers use at risk of re-auction, that service may not even last a year.

[Nat Purser is a Government Affairs Policy Advocate at Public Knowledge. Jessica Dine is a policy analyst at New America's Open Technology Institute and Wireless Future.]