Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

TDS Telecommunications announced the completion of its Monroe County (TN) broadband grant project, upgrading services to more than 3,000 locations with new fiber-optic connections. The network upgrades were supported in part by a grant awarded by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development using federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to expand access to high-speed broadband in unserved and underserved areas. TDS contributed the remaining project costs to bring state-of-the-art infrastructure to the region.

Nearly 4,000 homes, businesses, and community institutions in northern New Mexico are set to receive broadband connections after the state and an internet service provider signed a grant agreement, clearing the way for work to begin on the state’s first project under the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. The Office of Broadband Access and Expansion announced that Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has become the first provider to sign a BEAD agreement with the state.

In anticipation of the upcoming true-up round of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, Vernonburg Group takes this opportunity to update our “rainy-day fund” cost estimate. In February 2026, we estimated that a rainy-day funding round may require as much as $7.6 billion of additional BEAD funding to connect all remaining unserved and underserved locations.

The Arkansas State Broadband Office has disbursed the State’s first funding through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, marking another major milestone as Arkansas moves from program development and awards into project implementation. The first disbursement, totaling $2.6 million, was made to Brightspeed following completion of its first required project milestone. Brightspeed was awarded funding through Arkansas’ BEAD Program for 13 projects across 25 counties, which will ultimately connect more than 13,700 homes and businesses to high-speed internet.

Up to 1 million locations could still need broadband service, according to Brooke Donilon, chief of staff of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the government prepares to identify areas that may qualify for additional funding. NTIA is waiting for an updated Federal Communications Commission broadband coverage map before working with states to identify locations that remain unserved. “We're anticipating somewhere between 600,000 to a million.

The Commerce Department is hoping to make broadband coverage maps as accurate as possible before a new round of funding aimed at locations that previously fell through the cracks. Assistant Commerce Secretary Arielle Roth, head of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, said that at the agency’s last convening of state broadband directors, officials were adamant about “the importance of getting this right.”

The $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program to bring high-speed internet to every American, which the Biden administration launched three years ago, can sometimes feel like it’s proceeding at a dial-up pace, a group of broadband experts confessed last week.

Louisiana’s GUMBO 2.0 program has delivered two national firsts in fiber deployment, with Coushatta becoming the first community in the nation to receive fiber internet service through the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program and SkyRider Communications becoming the first provider in the nation to begin BEAD fiber construction.

Lawmakers are making progress on draft legislation to update an $8 billion-per-year telecommunications subsidy. A bipartisan working group with members from both chambers of Congress has been working for years to update the Universal Service Fund, which is supported by fees on a shrinking pool of voice revenue. 

In the event of an emergency, every second matters. Gov Jeff Landry (R-LA) recently emphasized that though first responders are ready to answer the call, they need access to reliable technology to communicate effectively. Louisiana is working quickly and efficiently to ensure its communities do not fall behind when it comes to technology and infrastructure. Through federal partnerships and with the help of President Trump and the congressional delegation, Louisiana is making significant progress in bringing reliable connectivity to communities that have gone without it for too long.