- Wireless by the Numbers
- Broadband Legislation Roundup
- BEAD Program Still on Hold
- Philadelphia Kicks Off Power Up Tour
- Nonprofit to Create Plan for Texas County
- Broadband Advocates Recognized
WIRELESS BY THE NUMBERS
Wireless infrastructure is being deployed more efficiently and contributing to employment across the United States, according to the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA)'s third Wireless Infrastructure by the Numbers report.
WIA represents businesses that build, own and operate wireless infrastructure in the U.S., which includes various components such as towers, cell sites, antennas, fiber networks and data centers.
The U.S. cellular industry invested more than $10.8 billion in expanding network capacity and coverage in 2024. When including construction, maintenance and operations, infrastructure investments amounted to more than $63 billion.
Not only are more tower and cell sites being deployed, but their deployment is increasingly efficient, according to the report. The shift from 4G to 5G equipment is one contributing factor. By the end of 2024, there were more than 651,000 structures supporting wireless infrastructure nationwide.
The report describes this infrastructure as “a driving force behind economic growth” in the report. Both deployment and operation of this infrastructure drive employment — with an estimated 368,750 full-time workers building, maintaining and operating cellular networks in 2024.
However, the amount spent on maintenance and operational costs has increased. The report cites several factors contributing to this increase: More equipment is being added to towers and small cells, more fiber is necessary to connect cells to the core network, more compute capacity is required for mobile bandwidth, and more towers and cell site locations are needed.
Notably, the rise of artificial intelligence, mobile video, and hybrid work environments contribute to increasing mobile bandwidth consumption, the report says; for this reason, growth in demand for wireless infrastructure is expected in the years ahead.
Continued deployment of this infrastructure contributes directly to the creation of the cellular network jobs, the report concludes.
BROADBAND LEGISLATION ROUNDUP
Several key pieces of federal legislation saw action in the last week.
Last week, lawmakers introduced the bipartisan ReConnecting Rural America Act in the House of Representatives. The legislation aims to bring broadband to rural and tribal communities.
The Rural Broadband Assistance Act was also introduced last week, to expand Internet access in rural parts of the U.S. by codifying the Broadband Technical Assistance program. This legislation is supported by organizations such as the Rural Broadband Association (NTCA) and the National Association of Counties.
At the state level, the Minnesota Senate passed bipartisan legislation to improve the safety of broadband expansion last week with a unanimous vote; SF 908 will require the workers installing underground broadband in the state to have a broadband safety certification, starting in 2026.
BEAD PROGRAM STILL ON HOLD
The Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program has been undergoing federal review in an effort to expedite its process, which continues to delay states’ progress on implementing their approved plans. Some states have had to pause their advancement of the program until they receive updated guidance from the federal government, expected this month.
Now, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has called on U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to ask him to expedite the review of the program and release of new guidance, in a letter Wednesday. Capito helped craft the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, under which the BEAD program was created.
“West Virginians have waited long enough,” Capito’s letter read.
Both the BEAD program and programming under the Digital Equity Act remain frozen, as is evident on a tracker released last week by Democrats of the House Committee on Appropriations to help illuminate where congressionally approved funding for communities is being withheld.
The committee’s ranking member, Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, called on the administration to stop blocking this funding for infrastructure projects and other “critical” needs, in a statement.
PHILADELPHIA KICKS OFF POWER UP TOUR
This week, Philadelphia announced the launch of the Power Up Tour, a citywide initiative that entails delivering 500 free laptops to residents who need them. Its first event was Monday.
Throughout this year, the tour will engage with communities in 10 City Council districts. Within each district, pop-up events will allow 50 preregistered residents access to devices, local digital resources, and information about free or low-cost Internet plans.
This announcement closely follows the April release of two new tools that support Philadelphia’s work to get residents connected to the Internet.
About 88 percent of city residents have access to some form of broadband Internet, but only 61 percent have access to tablets or other portable wireless devices.
“The Power Up Tour is about equity,” Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said in a statement.
NONPROFIT TO CREATE PLAN FOR TEXAS COUNTY
In other local news, the nation’s third most populous county has partnered with a nonprofit organization to expand broadband access. Harris County, Texas, home to more than 4.8 million residents, will be working with US Ignite on this initiative.
The nonprofit will develop a broadband plan for the county in alignment with its policies and vision. It will also evaluate the county’s existing broadband plan as part of the scope of the partnership.
The plan is slated to be delivered to Harris County officials this month.
The partnership builds on the county’s investment in expanding access and the nonprofit’s technological expertise. This approach can support counties across the nation in creating digital infrastructure, according to a statement from US Ignite Community Innovation Manager Domenick Lasorsa.
BROADBAND ADVOCATES RECOGNIZED
NTCA has recognized two members of Congress and two broadband executives for their advocacy and policymaking to support broadband providers.
Reps. Zach Nunn and Angie Craig received the 2025 Rural Broadband Champion of the Year Award. The awardees are members of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively.
In the private sector, Denny Law, CEO of Golden West Telecommunications, received the Excellence in Advocacy Award. Law is set to retire effective Friday, according to Internet service provider SDN Communications. Fred Johnson, CEO of Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative, received the Grassroots Advocate of the Year Award.
