Quello Center for Media & Information Policy

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Restructuring Policy Notice of June 6, 2025, greatly narrows the vision embedded in the original BEAD program. The previous approach recognized that digital equity and complementary policy measures, such as workforce development programs, boost the social and economic benefits of high-speed Internet access. In contrast, the revised PN aims at minimizing BEAD program outlays for broadband access. Although efficiency and expediency are desirable, the new approach risks jeopardizing even the more modest remaining goals of BEAD.

This study was designed to understand the repercussions of absent or poor home Internet connectivity on student performance and the associated costs to society. The focus is on Internet connectivity outside of school among middle and high school students enrolled in rural and smalltown schools. This report examines how differences in the type and quality of home connectivity (eg, broadband vs.