Vermont Broadband Director Doesn’t Expect BEAD Changes to Undo Fiber Dominance

When the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released new guidelines for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program, the deadline for applying for funding had already passed in Vermont and administrators were about to begin the scoring process. Nevertheless, Christine Hallquist, executive director of the Vermont broadband office, says that the changes won’t be tremendously disruptive — at least not in Vermont. Initial BEAD rules prioritized fiber and allowed the use of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and unlicensed fixed wireless only for extremely high-cost areas. New rules put those technologies on an equal footing with fiber and require states to essentially award funding to the lowest bidder. There are several reasons why the changes won’t have a huge impact in Vermont, according to Hallquist. One reason is that the rules that the state previously established for BEAD-enabled applicants to specify any technology. Hallquist expected to award a large portion of the money for fiber, though — and she doesn’t expect that to change dramatically, despite the new rules.