Trump Administration Wants California to Trade $16 Billion in Broadband Benefits the State Has Now for $1.42 Billion It Will Disperse Later

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program has lived a highly dramatic life since Congress created it as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.The most recent high-stakes drama involves the state of California. After multiple efforts by California to apply for its share of the money, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration finally approved a modified version of California’s application. But, of course, there’s a catch. And for California, unlike the other states, it’s a biggy. One of the conditions of the grant (Condition 50) created by the Trump administration requires states to pledge not to enforce virtually any rule or obligation against any provider that gets BEAD money—especially not net neutrality, but including any “rate regulation,” “terms of service,” or “utility-style rules” (whatever those are, NTIA doesn’t define them). As I explain below, this could end up costing the state of California somewhere between $5 billion and $16 billion in existing broadband benefits.