Questionable maps, staff shortages and accountability concerns have pressured states as they participate in NTIA's $42.5 billion BEAD program, broadband experts said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday. Flaws in the FCC’s broadband fabric and limited state capacity could leave millions of homes without service, while shrinking eligibility has already cut out up to 60% of locations that were eligible during earlier subgrantee rounds, they said.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
House Communications Subcommittee members traded partisan barbs during a Thursday hearing over a largely GOP-initiated set of broadband permitting bills (see 2509120072) that Democrats claim won’t be effective in speeding up connectivity buildout. Republicans filed many of the 29 bills in past Congresses, including several they previously combined into the controversial American Broadband Deployment Act (see 2305240069). Subpanel Democrats also punctuated the hearing with criticism of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for threats against ABC and parent company Disney that resulted in the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! (see 2509180055).
NTIA's management of BEAD under the agency's revised rules is "no way to run a railroad, and no way to connect Americans to the fast, affordable, reliable internet we need," wrote Revati Prasad, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, in a blog post Monday. Citing concerns from public interest advocates about another possible round of subgrantee selections, Prasad warned that the agency is going "off track" amid claims that it's requiring several states to revisit "some of the most expensive locations to connect and to do so in 72 hours."
Michael Powell is leaving NCTA on a high note, with net neutrality -- an issue he has dealt with and opposed for decades -- seemingly dead. "It was going to be really dispiriting to me if I retired, and we were now in a Title II environment, and I'm super excited that no, I can say that we slayed that dragon," the group's outgoing leader told us.
NTIA may require states to conduct an additional round of subgrantee selections for the BEAD program, warned Christopher Mitchell, director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's community broadband networks initiative. In a blog Tuesday, Mitchell said NTIA added a "new step in the BEAD process to further reduce new investment in the areas that currently only have access from satellite providers."
Competitive Carriers Association membership is shrinking, but the remainder are hopeful about future spectrum auctions and policy calls that could mean the difference between life and death for many small players, CEO Tim Donovan said in an interview Thursday.
The House Appropriations Committee voted 35-28 early Wednesday morning to advance the Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee’s FY 2026 funding bill after turning back Democrats’ bid to attach $535 million in advance CPB funding for FY 2028. The measure lacks language to restore any of the $1.1 billion in federal money for CPB that Congress clawed back in July via the 2025 Rescissions Act (see 2509030065). Meanwhile, House Appropriations appeared on track Wednesday afternoon to advance the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s FY26 bill, which would cut NTIA’s annual funding (see 2507150086). The panel was still considering amendments at our deadline.
NTIA faces a pressing deadline to review BEAD final proposals and start distributing money to states and territories, broadband policy experts told us. The agency committed Friday to approving at least some final proposals by year-end.
State broadband leaders outlined Wednesday the hurdles they have faced and the progress made in adapting to NTIA’s revised BEAD guidelines. During a Broadband Breakfast webinar, just one day before new final proposals are due, officials acknowledged the difficulties but emphasized that the process is advancing states toward universal coverage.