Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday that he expects the White House to focus on getting Americans broadband connections and that as chair, he would have handled the rural digital opportunity fund (RDOF) differently if he had known the BEAD program would follow it.
The FAA might not be a good home for the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), and maybe it should move elsewhere, said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Also speaking Wednesday at the FAA and Commercial Space Federation's annual commercial space conference in Washington, House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairman Mike Haridopolos urged aggressive use of low earth orbit (LEO) broadband in BEAD, saying it would be a vastly cheaper approach.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Expect big changes to BEAD, with the Donald Trump administration and congressional Republicans rewriting the rules and putting more emphasis on efficient use of funding, tech policy experts said Tuesday at the annual State of the Net conference. Consultant Mike O'Rielly, a former FCC commissioner, said NTIA isn't likely to process any state's final proposals in the near term as it awaits where the administration and Congress take BEAD. States must be flexible and ready to pivot once that new direction becomes clear, he added.
The Competitive Carriers Association challenged parts of the FCC’s 5G Fund order in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, seeking changes to the rules the agency adopted under former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2408290041). Current Chairman Brendan Carr voted against the order, arguing that the fund should be launched only after the BEAD program plays out and money is awarded. CCA and the Rural Wireless Association voiced concerns when the order was approved in August.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) is urging Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to “eliminate” the $42.5 billion, NTIA-administered BEAD program’s requirement that recipients offer a low-cost broadband service option, among other rules, as part of a broader revamp. Cruz said in November that the 119th Congress would review the program and requirements that have drawn GOP ire (see 2411220035). Hegar said in a letter to Cruz last week that his recommendations would collectively help the Texas Broadband Development Office better roll out its $3.3 billion BEAD allocation after an “unnecessarily protracted” NTIA approval process. Hegar believes “certain ‘nonessential’ requirements exceed the program's original intent and unnecessarily complicate its implementation.” The low-cost option “requirement is viewed as running counter to [the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s] legislative mandate against rate regulation,” Hegar told Cruz. “Removing this requirement may increase overall provider participation and support efficient deployment of funds.” It “would also reduce the administrative burden placed on [state broadband offices] to identify ‘eligible households’ and monitor subgrantee’s compliance with the requirement.” He also proposed that the federal government jettison other NTIA rules that congressional Republicans have criticized, including ordering that grantees adhere to prevailing wage requirements and “unnecessary” cybersecurity and workforce regulations. Hegar urged lawmakers “loosen or eliminate” requirements that BEAD projects go through National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act reviews. He also said Congress should “relax or eliminate guidelines regarding deployment of alternative technology in additional hard-to-reach areas.”
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
Senate Commerce Committee Democrats are already signaling that they're unlikely to give new NTIA administrator pick Arielle Roth a free pass through her confirmation process, particularly given their amplified doubts about how the agency-administered, $42.5 billion BEAD program will fare under Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary nominee (see 2501290047). Several Senate Commerce Democrats are likely to vote against Lutnick at a Wednesday panel meeting, but lobbyists told us he is all but certain to advance to the floor with unified GOP support.
The White House OMB rescinded its stayed memo that called for a freeze on most federal grants and loans, bowing to mounting criticism of the plan’s breadth even after it partially walked it back Tuesday (see 2501280051). The now-rescinded freeze would have paused NTIA’s disbursal of $42.5 billion from the BEAD program and other Commerce Department initiatives, commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick acknowledged during his Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday.