The federal program intended to bring broadband internet to rural areas is moving into a new phase as states propose how they plan to use billions in grant funds under a new set of guidelines issued by the Trump administration this summer.
Now that most states have submitted their final plans for grants from the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, or BEAD, program, some Democrats are worried the grants will no longer be the broad fix for internet access they were intended to be when the program was created in the 2021 infrastructure law.
More changes could be coming. On Thursday the House Energy and Commerce’s subcommittee on Communications and Technology plans a hearing on a slate of 29 bills on broadband deployment and permitting. One would prohibit states from discriminating in broadband regulations based on what technology, such as fiber or satellite, is used to provide equivalent service and another would exempt repairs or replacement of communications facilities after a disaster from environmental reviews.
