Trump admin rescinds, resets Nevada's half-billion-dollar fiber internet buildout

The Trump administration has rescinded its final approval for Nevada to use its nearly half-billion-dollar broadband award, further delaying the state’s plan to achieve universal high-speed internet and speed up internet service for areas, including rural ones, plagued by slow connections. Nevada was one of three states to have its proposal fully approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, unlocking the full amount that the federal government had designated for the state under the 2021 Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. The state had already selected more than 50,000 locations and provisionally awarded 19 providers to build out broadband infrastructure across the state, which ranks 20th in internet connectivity. In late April, Nevada broadband director Brian Mitchell said construction was set to start this summer—an enormous milestone for a program that had spent years in the bureaucratic approvals process. Instead, the state’s Office of Science, Innovation and Technology will need to scrap its list of subawardees and redo the bid selection process using different guidelines—further delaying the beginning of construction potentially into 2026.