Nebraska

Telecom providers and cable companies are ditching areas where they no longer want to serve customers. Nebraska Technology and Telecommunications just filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission to discontinue all its voice and data services in the states of Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The discontinuance will affect approximately 3,756 customers.

After a year of rebidding and guidance changes, the U.S. broadband industry breathed a sigh of relief when the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced it had approved the vast majority of final state Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment proposals, opening the door for funding to flow.

Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty visited Nebraska on a visit hosted by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), where she met with government, military, nonprofit, and private-sector stakeholders working to strengthen U.S. leadership in advanced communications technologies. "During my recent trip to Nebraska, I saw firsthand the critical role advanced communications technologies play in keeping Americans safe and connected, including in some of the nation’s most rural communities,” said Commissioner Trusty.

Nebraska is reopening bidding for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program after some tentative grant winners refused to sign contracts with the state. The Nebraska Broadband Office said it would publish a new map outlining the 1,735 remaining eligible locations in the coming weeks. NBO said its new round would aim to “promote competition between internet providers with a focus on quality and end-user experience.” The state confirmed the seven ISPs that have signed their agreements; they include:

Great Plains Communications has entered into a definitive agreement with American Broadband Holding Company, doing business as Fastwyre Broadband, an internet service provider serving customers across multiple states, to acquire Fastwyre’s business in Nebraska, which serves more than two dozen communities. Through this acquisition, current Nebraska Fastwyre customers will gain access to expanded service options, future network upgrades, and the benefits of the GPC MEF-certified 20,000+ mile fiber network designed for speed, reliability, and scalability.

The National Telecommunication and Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce joined the Nebraska Governor’s Office in announcing that the first Nebraska household has been connected to broadband through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, one of the first BEAD-funded connections in the country. Administrator Roth and Governor Pillen made the announcement from Ogallala, where they visited the home connected by BEAD and observed firsthand the fixed wireless tower providing broadband service.

The Trump administration is pushing back on Republican-led AI bills in Nebraska and Tennessee, with sources familiar with the negotiations describing the outreach as pressure to weaken or

Gov Jim Pillen (R-NE) announced that Patrick Haggerty, director of the Broadband Office, will be leaving his position with the state. Director Haggerty’s last day with the agency will be May 1, 2026. “I appreciate Director Haggerty’s public service to the citizens of Nebraska. He has been part of our early and ongoing efforts to expand the state’s broadband infrastructure. I thank him for the leadership he provided to the Broadband Office, and I wish him success in all his future endeavors,” said Gov Pillen.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) doesn’t appear to have made major changes to states’ award recommendations in the Benefit of the Bargain round in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program—at least not based on analysis of NTIA award approvals for several states. NTIA made relatively small changes to the award recommendations that Louisiana and Maine submitted in the Benefit of the Bargain round. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is not making any changes to awardee lists that have been approved by NTIA.

We urge the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to clarify that precision agriculture connectivity constitutes an eligible use of remaining Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment non-deployment funds. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law defines eligible locations and permissible activities in ways that encompass broadband needed for agricultural operations on farmland and ranchland.