Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Corning is staggering shipments of fiber for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment projects to match deployment schedules. It’s an effort to ensure supply that could be used by another award winner isn’t collecting dust in a warehouse, said Bob Whitman, Corning’s vice president of market development, who spoke at Mountain Connect in Denver (CO). 

The digital divide in the American Southeast is no longer defined solely by the binary presence or absence of a connection; instead, it has evolved into a complex ecosystem of infrastructure quality, affordability, and digital literacy. This report delivers an exhaustive analysis of broadband access and connectivity trends within six disparate Local Education Agencies: Anniston City Schools (AL), Madison County School System (AL), McDuffie County School System (GA), Halifax County Schools (NC), Dorchester School District Four (SC), and Fayette County Public Schools (TN).

Last week, we covered some of the broadband and digital equity initiatives launched by the states this summer. From digital equity resources in Louisiana to historic investments in broadband infrastructure funding for the Navajo Nation, here are some more notable broadband news bites we've seen from states and Tribal governments around the country.

The Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program will fund construction of broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved locations across the United States. But before construction can begin, internet service providers must first clear federal environmental and historic-preservation review, including National Environmental Policy Act, and then navigate a broader thicket of environmental, cultural, land-use, right-of-way, easement, and jurisdictional permitting requirements.

Well-regarded telecommunications and cable analyst Craig Moffett from MoffettNathanson had some harsh words for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program in a recent note for investors. He said that because BEAD has taken so long—five years since it was established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—private investors have stopped paying attention to it. And in fact, private industry has moved on to close the digital divide in its own ways.

Cities, counties, nonprofits, libraries, community colleges, and workforce organizations waiting to learn whether the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program is coming back now have a glimmer of hope, albeit a soft one.

Pole attachment requirements added late in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program rollout have become a sticking point for electric cooperatives, already pushing some out of the program. Under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) revised terms, an electric cooperative that accepts BEAD funding for any part of its territory becomes subject to Federal Communications Commission pole attachment rates across its entire service area, not only the funded portion.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a Report and Order on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, changing some key elements of broadband consumer labels. The broadband consumer labels were mandated by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), requiring all internet service providers (ISPs) to adopt and display the labels by October 10, 2024.

U.S. states and territories are making progress on their broadband goals this summer. A number of state-run initiatives have been launched, and several infrastructure projects are in full swing. While it's easy to have all eyes on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program—and, hypocritically, more on that later—there are countless other actions states are taking to ensure robust broadband access and universal digital adoption. From infrastructure planning to deployment to increasing awareness and resources, states are doing it all.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its contract partner CostQuest have been agonizing over the U.S. broadband map for more than five years. They really doubled-down on the effort to create an accurate nationwide map when the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program started. Now, coming in at the 9th inning, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill—SB 2585 MAP for Broadband Funding Act—that would require the FCC to reevaluate its national broadband map.