Expanding broadband in rural Pennsylvania was complicated by rule changes and uncertainty in 2025

It’s been a year of sweeping and controversial changes for a huge federal broadband initiative. The $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program was created in 2021 with bipartisan support and an ambitious goal: bring high-speed internet access to every home and business in the U.S., no matter how remote. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose agency oversees the program, said in January that under the Biden administration the program had become bogged down in red tape and “woke mandates.” He promised changes, pending a “rigorous review.” Here are four things to know about what happened and where things stand:

• Changes to key grant program: In June, the Trump administration announced major changes to the grant program. The program originally prioritized projects that use fiber-optic cables, citing a need to ensure that the networks ultimately offer faster speeds to meet the needs of the future. Federal officials argued this relegated other technologies, like wireless and satellite internet, to “third-tier status”—even though they are often cheaper and faster to build.
• Digital skills grants scrapped: In May, the Trump administration abruptly canceled a separate, $2.5 billion grant program intended to teach digital skills and make getting online affordable. President Donald Trump called it “racist” and “wholly unconstitutional.” A lawsuit challenging the administration’s legal authority to cancel the funding is pending in federal court.
• Shift towards satellite: In August, Pennsylvania announced which companies would receive grants. Under the state’s proposal, roughly two-thirds of eligible locations in the commonwealth will be connected to the internet via fiber-optic cables, while another 18 percent will be served by satellite providers, and 13 percent will receive wireless internet. It’s hard to say exactly what difference the changes made in Pennsylvania, but it’s clear that they opened the door for satellite to play a larger role.