A New BEAD in 180 Days?

Although Phileas Fogg famously traveled around the world in 80 days, at a Senate Appropriations hearing, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick outlined a more ambitious task: completing Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding by the end of 2025. Secretary Lutnick floated a new notice of funding opportunity (known as an NOFO) for the BEAD program with requirements for states to be “tech agnostic” or “tech neutral” and nevertheless claimed final awards could go out before the end of the year. The details remain scarce. States had expected BEAD revisions via “NTIA guidance” after a “rigorous review” announced by Secretary Lutnick in early March. A new NOFO may mean more extensive changes to states’ existing plans and planned awards. Secretary Lutnick said states will be required to apply within 90 days, but what that means for states and subrecipients remains unclear. Also unclear is what Secretary Lutnick means by “tech agnostic” or “tech neutral.” In an exchange during the hearing with Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Secretary Lutnick promised quick approval of state proposals “as long as you are technologically agnostic and you agree to provide the broadband at the cheapest price per use.” Secretary Lutnick also suggested that BEAD would be refocused on just broadband access. Everything else—which he called “noise”—would be eliminated. The law that created the BEAD Program allows states to fund broadband adoption efforts, including providing affordable internet-capable devices.” West Virginia, for example, was planning to use $30 million of its BEAD funding to train West Virginians for good-paying jobs and build the talent needed to support the broadband industry. Lutnick’s testimony indicates that he may eliminate such uses of BEAD funding.