Louisiana

It took the U.S. six days to get water to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina in the Superdome in 2005.

Josh Etheridge, co-owner of Louisiana-based Etheridge Performance Cable, wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to describe the impact of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program pause on his company. "Louisiana was promised millions to start broadband construction by April 2025 that it has not received. This is killing my US-based company and requiring me to layoff 80 percent of my contracted workers. We can’t wait another 90 days."

Two rural fiber providers that won grants from the government’s flagship broadband expansion program are urging the Trump administration to allow the effort to move forward without major changes. Both ClearPath and SkyRider won grants in Louisiana, one of the states given the green light under the Biden administration, to deploy fiber in rural areas.

An unexpected federal review is still holding up Louisiana’s $1.3 billion in federal broadband funding, according to one of the state’s broadband officers. “The review is still ongoing,” said Thomas Tyler, deputy director of the state’s broadband office. Louisiana, along with Delaware and Nevada, received approval on their spending plans for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program in the waning days of the Biden administration. That approval came from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Commerce Department agency handling BEAD. 

Even though the U.S. Commerce Department agency responsible for broadband officially approved federal funds for Louisiana, Delaware and Nevada, those state broadband offices are unable go forward because an unrelated federal agency—the National Institute for Standards and Technology—has not done its routine check-off. Then-National Telecommunications and Information Administrator Alan Davidson approved Louisiana’s final proposal on Jan. 13, one week before Inauguration Day.

I would greatly appreciate having the opportunity to serve as a thought partner and sounding board as you make necessary reforms to the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) and the Broadband Equity Access Deployment (BEAD) Program. To get started on the reforms that would result in shovels in the ground quickly, I would propose the following based on our hard-won experience as the first state in the nation to achieve every major program milestone:  

On January 13, 2025, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced its approval of Louisiana’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Final Proposal. Delaware’s approval followed the next day. With those two landmarks, coming as the fourth year since the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) begins to elapse, the BEAD program is at last beginning to bear fruit.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Louisiana’s Final Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service. Louisiana’s Final Proposal outlines its plan for using the more than $1.3 billion in allocated BEAD funding to connect 140,030 households and businesses. Louisiana is the first state to have its Final Proposal approved.

Brightspeed says that it has received $238 million in local, state, and federal grants and funds. The money, the company says, will expand the number of addresses passed by planned projects by 121,000 in 14 states. Brightspeed, which is based in North Carolina, says that it will continue to pursue state and federal grants. The funding:

The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $276 million to 44 Tribal entities to expand high-speed Internet access and adoption. The funding from the nearly $3 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Internet for All Initiative.