Reactions to the Trump Administration's Changes to the BEAD Program

“The result of today’s announcement is simple: the Trump administration is delaying once-in-a-generation investments, blocking states from closing the digital divide and getting Americans online,” said Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA). “Congress was thoughtful and bipartisan when hammering out the details for BEAD, because we realize the stakes for getting connectivity right are sky high. We empowered our states and local communities to use their on-the-ground knowledge to ensure BEAD dollars go where they’re most needed. We have worked hard to ensure access, affordability, and adoption go hand in hand. This is a matter of necessity for our constituents. Reliable, high speed internet access dictates who succeeds and who is left behind in the modern economy.”

“The Trump Administration’s proposed changes to the BEAD program will only further delay getting much-needed funding out the door to connect communities to broadband," said Rep Frank Pallone (D-NJ). "Republicans are throwing out years of hard work and forcing states to start from scratch—imposing worse internet service on families and businesses. This is the height of Republican hypocrisy and will cause more confusion and delays. It’s especially concerning the Administration is making these changes while the Senate proposes conditioning this broadband funding on states agreeing not to pass AI laws. Enough is enough, it’s time to stop playing games with the funding states were promised to bring affordable and reliable high-speed internet to communities that have been left behind for far too long.”

“I’m beyond outraged that the Trump Administration has moved the goal post yet again and rescinded Nevada’s approval to get the BEAD funding I secured to connect the hardest-to-reach communities in our state to high-speed internet,” said Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV). “This decision will put Nevada’s broadband funding in jeopardy, and it’s a slap in the face to rural communities that need access to high-speed internet. I’m going to put a hold on all nominations for Commerce Department positions that oversee or deal with broadband policy in any way, and block their expedited confirmation, until Nevada gets its BEAD funding.”

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said, “We know that the terrain and realities of West Virginia demand flexibility—not a one-size-fits-all directive from Biden-era Washington. I want to thank Commerce Secretary Lutnick for his attention to both the taxpayer and the need for action relative to the BEAD legislation.”

“Through the BEAD Program, the Affordable Connectivity Program, and the Digital Equity Act, Congress initiated the most comprehensive effort in our history to close the digital divide,” said Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Executive Director Revati Prasad. “With these tools, we could have finally ensured that all Americans can access, afford, and effectively use reliable, high-speed internet. But over the last year, policymakers have weakened that commitment. Congress allowed the ACP to expire, raising the cost of broadband for 23 million American households. President Trump unilaterally ended Digital Equity Act programs that would have helped seniors, rural residents, veterans, and so many others develop the skills they need to make use of the internet to improve their lives. Now, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is shifting BEAD so rural America will once again be left stuck with slow, unreliable, and expensive satellite internet access. This is a betrayal of rural America.”

“Secretary Lutnick’s actions will cement the digital divide for decades,” said Benton Director of Policy Engagement Drew Garner. “He is hurting our economic competitiveness, our healthcare and education, and our ability to work and stay connected with loved ones. He is denying rural Americans access to the modern economy and our increasingly connected world."

"The new 'Policy Notice' for the $42.5 Billion Broadband Equity Access & Deployment Program will screw rural America by forcing it to eat slow, congested, expensive 'broadband,'" said Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate Gigi Sohn. "Plus it will delay deployment by months if not longer. I call it 'Lutnick's Folly.' I call it that because I have reason to believe that smarter folks in the White House and the Administration thought that the states should have been left to decide what technology was best for their residents, but the Commerce Secretary wouldn't listen.

“While the Department of Commerce continues to recognize the important statutory requirement that community anchor institutions receive BEAD funds to better serve their communities, NTIA’s recent public notice seeks to limit the types of anchors that will benefit from the program,” said Joseph Wender, Executive Director of the SHLB Coalition. “In some neighborhoods, it’s not the school, library, or health clinic—but rather another anchor institution—that facilitates broadband use and serves as the community’s gathering place to work, learn, or seek care. That’s why we call on NTIA to ensure that state and local leaders have the discretion to identify and connect the full suite of anchor institutions that serve their constituents.”

"By diverting billions in funding to cheaper technologies like low-Earth orbit satellite service, which are more costly for consumers, technologically inferior, capacity-limited, and environmentally constrained, the Commerce Department is wasting public dollars on services that cannot deliver what communities need. This would constitute a historic policy failure for an administration attempting to save the public money while offering more efficient services," said Nat Purser, Government Affairs Policy Advocate at Public Knowledge. "Equally troubling, this shift comes after years of careful state planning and public engagement, with states like West Virginia already having achieved full fiber-coverage in their plan—with money to spare. Reworking these plans injects more delays into the process, slows progress toward digital equity, and punishes states and providers that followed the rules in good faith, as well as their communities."

“Instead of preserving leftover funds to address broadband adoption, access to devices, and similar needs, states can no longer know whether their broadband investments will be accompanied by programs to promote demand. By deferring this important aspect of BEAD guidance altogether, NTIA is showing a real lack of interest in addressing the adoption gaps that are a major driving force behind the digital divide,” said New America Open Technology Institute's Jessica Dine.

“The technology neutrality is foolish, because this was supposed to be a long-term investment,” said Christopher Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

“I think [the Commerce Department] just made 56 enemies,”  said Alexis Schrubbe, director of the Internet Equity Initiative at the University of Chicago's Data Science Institute. “First and foremost, it removes any technology preference whatsoever… All of the work that state broadband offices undertook over the last two years, that's all wiped clean, and they have to do it again.”

“A fiber project cannot win against a fixed wireless,” said broadband analyst and CCG consultant Doug Dawson. “The entire Southwest is going to get fixed wireless.”

“NTIA is right to curb the expensive fiber overreach,” said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director of broadband and spectrum policy, Joe Kane. “Next stop: affordability.”

NCTA - The Radio and Television Association said, “We welcome changes to the BEAD program that will make the program more efficient and eliminate onerous requirements, which add unnecessary costs that impede broadband deployment efforts. These updates are welcome improvements that will make it easier for providers to build faster, especially in hard-to-reach communities, without being bogged down by red tape."

"The NTIA has put the interests of a few billionaires and satellite companies ahead of millions of Americans in rural communities and thousands of workers," said the Communications Workers of America union. "Commerce Secretary Lutnick’s attack on approved broadband projects undermines the bipartisan work of the U.S. Congress and the state governments that have invested significant resources in carefully developing programs to bring high-quality broadband and good jobs that meet the needs of their unique communities."

“I think people are going to feel betrayed,” said Josh Ethridge, co-owner of fiber construction firm EPC. “It’s quite obviously a ploy for fixed wireless services.”

Bob Bartz, Vice President of Engineering Services for CHR Solutions, said, "Even with the program now claiming to be ‘technology neutral,’ fiber continues to lead the pack when it comes to BEAD eligibility. It effortlessly delivers 100/20 Mbps speeds, low latency, and the scalability needed for tomorrow’s demands—all without the performance uncertainty that comes with wireless or satellite options. That means faster deployments, fewer regulatory hurdles, and networks built to last."

“Importantly, the updated guidance broadens the slate of solution providers, particularly those that prioritize the most cost-effective technologies suited to each location,” said WISPA’s President and CEO David Zumwalt. “By removing the program’s rigid and costly regulatory overlays, the new guidelines encourage investment, innovation, and faster outcomes."