Here’s How NTIA is Changing the BEAD Program

On June 6, 2025, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) changed the direction of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a federal-state partnership established by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. States, Washington (DC), Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories appeared on track to bring fiber-optic broadband networks to nearly every unserved location in the U.S. Under Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s leadership, NTIA is now instructing states to pick the cheapest technologies to deliver internet access, forcing every state and territory to redo their subgrant programs in 90 days. NTIA’s Policy Notice also eliminates BEAD requirements for fair labor practices, factoring in climate changes over the lifetime of networks, consumer protections, and measures to ensure these taxpayer-funded networks are affordable for potential subscribers. States are on tight deadlines to implement the changes outlined, with the first—updating the state’s Initial BEAD Proposal—coming on July 6, 2025.