- NTIA Delays BEAD Guidance
- Maine Network Partners Wanted
- New Mexico Enacts Broadband Affordability Law
- Fiber Broadband Buildouts Continue
- Laptop Lending Program
NTIA DELAYS BEAD GUIDANCE
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has delayed the release of much anticipated guidance as to how states can spend non-deployment funds from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which was expected this week.
"While our guidance was expected by next week, we are taking additional time to review the comments and finalize our approach to ensure these funds are spent as efficiently and responsibly as possible. American taxpayers work hard for their money and deserve nothing less from this Administration,” NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth, who is also the assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, said in a statement.
There has been bipartisan support from state officials for NTIA to honor the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s intent for non-deployment funds to be treated not as “optional extras” or as something that is conditional, but rather as funds that are “central to BEAD’s mission.”
These dollars are intended to support things like building AI infrastructure, strengthening 911 networks, improving cybersecurity, building the telecommunications workforce, and streamlining permitting processes.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote a letter to NTIA this week demanding the agency abide by the law and release the funds as intended. The letter states that the increased amount of non-deployment funds is the “direct result” of using cheaper but “less reliable” broadband technologies. The letter criticizes “unlawful” presidential action threatening to withhold these funds from states that enact laws on AI, emphasizing that “executive orders issued by the president do not supersede federal law.”
Congress has taken action to address the questions around non-deployment funds.
NTIA has been gathering public input about how these funds should be used. More than 1,700 attendees and 175 speakers participated across three NTIA listening sessions, and people submitted 188 written comments. Common themes that have emerged through listening sessions are that funding should be used to address a variety of issues, including broadband resilience, permitting, and connecting locations that may remain unserved, per the agency.
In the meantime, some states face delays related to the lack of guidance.
MAINE NETWORK PARTNERS WANTED
The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) is seeking partners to support operations, maintenance, engineering and commercialization services for the Maine Online Optical Statewide Enabling Network (MOOSE Net).
The middle-mile network is made up of fiber-optic wires and, when complete, it will act as a commercial product for Internet service providers, mobile carriers and data processing centers; MOOSE Net will also be made available at competitive rates to community anchor institutions like libraries and universities.
MCA is seeking partnership either through a long-term network operator agreement or a joint venture structure in which both entities hold an equity interest. Currently, MCA is seeking feedback on these two potential structures through a request for information.
The network is expected to bring improved connectivity to communities by 2027.
NEW MEXICO ENACTS BROADBAND AFFORDABILITY LAW
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed into law Senate Bill 152, which established the Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program.
The program authorizes $10 million in broadband funding to help low-income families afford broadband service. The funding will come from the State Rural Universal Service Fund. Some residents have had trouble affording Internet since the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program in 2024, and New Mexico has taken this legislative action to help enable broadband access for residents regardless of income.
The bill was introduced in the New Mexico Senate in January and the New Mexico House of Representatives passed it in February. The new law goes into effect May 20.
FIBER BROADBAND BUILDOUTS CONTINUE
Fiber deployment is rising, in part due to private investment in the technology. Fiber remains the gold standard for Internet infrastructure, and as the number of AI data centers expands, experts have emphasized fiber’s importance as “the only technology capable of supporting the backhaul requirements of AI data centers.”
In Aberdeen, Idaho, a new fiber-optic network is available to support nearly 800 homes and businesses with high-speed Internet service as of last week.
In Washtenaw County, Mich., the expansion of a fiber broadband network is expected to connect nearly 1,000 additional homes and businesses through a public-private partnership.
In Wood County, Wis., a network upgrade project will start this year to install 400 miles of high-speed infrastructure, to reach more than 3,500 addresses.
In Alabama, a finished fiber network offers high-speed Internet service to more than 67,000 homes and businesses in the state’s Wiregrass region.
Fiber broadband infrastructure can support economic development in communities.
LAPTOP LENDING PROGRAM
In south Texas, the Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) distributed 150 laptops to students this week. The laptops, which were given to seniors, were funded in collaboration between AT&T, Compudopt, and the Los Fresnos CISD Education Foundation.
"The reason why we're here is because 150 seniors have demonstrated that they're either ready to go to college or ready to go straight into a career," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement at the distribution event.
In related news, a community program at Mary S. Biesecker Public Library in Somerset, Pa., makes 20 laptops available for public use. Public libraries play an essential role in bridging digital inequities, and they are increasingly supporting technology access.
