Gigi Sohn on the bad state of BEAD and promise of public broadband

The Trump administration revised the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program in June to shift from a fiber-focused program to a tech-neutral one prioritizing low costs. Since then, states have had to revise their previously approved BEAD plans and re-run their bidding processes, and states are now reportedly being forced again by the NTIA to negotiate bids even lower. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is expected to approve final BEAD awards by the end of the year. Gigi Sohn says she was initially hopeful when the NTIA released its "course correction" for BEAD in June, that states would still get to prioritize the best broadband projects for their communities. Early results were promising, with many states continuing to prioritize fiber. But since then, as other states have heavily funded low-Earth orbit satellite, and as the NTIA is reportedly forcing project costs down even further, "my optimism has completely crumbled," she adds.