Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested plans to issue a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) asked, “Do you agree that it would be a huge waste of money and a disservice to Americans who need reliable internet service to restart a bidding and proposal process?” Sec Lutnick responded by saying, “The Biden administration had 30 months [for BEAD] and they did nothing.” He then suggested a new proposal process that would take 90 days.

Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband, says that Trump’s reversal of the Digital Equity Act will result in more Americans being unable to access the Internet due to lack of resources or skills. “We will continue to have a massive digital divide in this country,” said Sohn.

Imagine being told that your state government has the funds to give your family an affordable high-speed Internet connection—not just this year, but every year for the next two centuries. Now, imagine that same government decides instead to run a fiber optic cable to a single house at the end of a long rural road. This is not a thought experiment. It’s the real tradeoff now playing out across the country under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association, in partnership with several rural stakeholders, sent a letter to members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees in support of sufficient 2026 funding for the telecommunications programs overseen by the Rural Utilities Service within the Department of Agriculture. The organizations wrote, "Congress’s continued support for funding RUS telecommunications and broadband programs remains vital. A strong public-private partnership is essential to America’s quest to secure and maintain global broadband preeminence.

On March 13, 2025, West Virginia was poised to achieve one of the greatest broadband successes in America. The state, which currently ranks last in broadband availability, had crafted a plan that would connect every West Virginian home and business to fast, reliable internet service by the end of the decade.

The Fiber Broadband Association joined those urging the Commerce Department not to make sweeping changes to the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. States “have the best understanding of their budget, the topology, their climate, unique challenges, and the families and communities that they seek to serve,” the group wrote in a Friday letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “There is no group better qualified and accountable to make the best decisions on which technology should be used to serve each broadband serviceable location in their state.”

The Digital Equity Act established the Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, the Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, and the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. Since early May, all 50 states, U.S. territories, and Tribal entities have grappled with the termination of broadband adoption funding through the Digital Equity Act, which President Donald Trump, via a social media post, declared to be racist, illegal, and unconstitutional.

The government giveth, and the government taketh away? That may be the case for the future of school-bus Wi-Fi, which is currently eligible for E-Rate discount under the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Services Fund. Whether that will continue is now uncertain due to court cases challenging the validity of the USF funding model. In late March, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on an appeal of a 5th Circuit decision that the Universal Service Fund’s revenue mechanism represents an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and more than 80 national and state organizations urged the House of Representatives to vote NO on S.J.Res.7/H.J.Res.33—Congressional Review Act resolutions that would overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to allow E-Rate funding for wireless hotspot lending by schools and libraries, and bar future Commissions from funding hotspots.

For about 15 percent of US households as of 2023, the only internet options are crappy, especially in rural areas. But thanks to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which aims to connect everyone in the US to high-quality, mostly fiber-based internet, that’s close to changing.