BroadbandBreakfast
Sec Lutnick Aiming for Non-Deployment Guidance ‘Over the Next Two Months’
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is hoping to complete guidance on $22 billion in broadband spending “over the next two months.” The agency had been planning to release the guidance March 11, but it’s been delayed.
House Passes FirstNet Reauthorization Bill
The House passed, by voice vote, legislation to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority, which oversees FirstNet, the nationwide first responder network owned and operated by AT&T under a contract with the Commerce Department. The FirstNet Authority will sunset in February 2027 unless Congress reauthorizes it, something that users and lawmakers broadly agree would be disruptive.
New Mexico Broadband Office Likely to Downsize After BEAD
The New Mexico broadband office is likely to downsize after it’s done managing the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. “In New Mexico, we do have a plan, and I think the plan will be to scale down a little bit,” Aquiles Trujillo, deputy director of the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access & Expansion, said at the Connected America show in Dallas.
Court Asked to Pause DEA-Related Lawsuit Against President Trump, Pending Key Court Decision
The lawsuit over the Trump administration’s suspension of grants from the $2.75 billion program to close the digital divide may come to a pause. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) filed a motion to put its lawsuit suing President Donald Trump on hold because there is a similar case further along that would control the outcome.
Leveraging BEAD 'Non-Deployment' Funds for Permitting Reform
States might use non-deployment Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program dollars to:
What Was Ted Hearn Thinking? Not About Incentives
A funny thing happened over Labor Day weekend. Journalist Ted Hearn emailed us a thoughtful question about a piece we wrote on BEAD spending incentives. We took time to craft a serious response explaining the economics.
The Court Did Its Job, Now It’s Time for Congress to Get Millions of Americans Online
The Supreme Court recently provided the Federal Communications Commission a sizable legal win by upholding its Universal Service Fund as constitutional.
NTIA Confirms RDOF Defaults After June 6 Excluded From BEAD Eligibility
National Telecommunications and Information Administration Chief of Staff Brooke Donilon confirmed that locations recently defaulted on in the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund will not be eligible to be included in NTIA's Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. “At some point we just had to draw a line and get to the 'Benefit of the Bargain' program,” Donilon said. “We can’t let perfect be the enemy of the good here. We have to get communities connected.
29% of Minnesota Locations Received No Bids For BEAD
Minnesota’s “Benefit of the Bargain” round received ten fewer applications from fiber providers and left 22,000 locations without any bids. “There are about 22,000 of the 76,000 eligible locations that did not receive a first-round bid,” explained Minnesota Office of Broadband Development Executive Director Bree Maki. “We lost ten applications from fiber providers because of it—and rightfully so. This is confusing.”