Incoming NTIA Expected to Be More Open to Deploy Satellite and FWA for BEAD

The Trump administration and its NTIA will likely favor satellite and unlicensed FWA, said consultant Carol Mattey. And it will have several routes for implementing that focus, such as granting waivers to states that want to amend their BEAD initial proposals, she said. With some states much further along in the BEAD process than others, the administration could waive certain requirements. For Texas -- whose volume 2 initial proposal was recently approved -- rethinking things "would be much easier than [for] Louisiana," which had its volume 2 approved a year ago, she said. NTIA would face heavy pushback from further-along states if it told them to stop work, Mattey argued.

For their extremely high-cost threshold areas, states can opt for satellite and FWA options rather than fiber, Mattey said. If the new administration gives states more latitude in setting the threshold, they could rethink their selection processes, she said.

In addition, the next administration could issue policy guidance that redefines "reliable broadband" to no longer exclude satellite and unlicensed FWA, Mattey added.

Many states aren't necessarily looking to more widely employ satellite or FWA, as a lot of governors want fiber for their rural populations, said ILSR's Mitchell.

BEAD being more open to satellite and unlicensed FWA wouldn't likely mean huge changes in states' approaches to closing their digital divides, Mattey predicted. Most states prefer having fiber, when possible, she said. Many states recognized they lack funds to deploy fiber everywhere, so they expect they will use FWA and satellite anyway, she said. NTIA policy changes might let states incrementally increase satellite awards, she said.

The FWA industry sees the potential to become a "meaningful" player in BEAD, said Steven Schwerbel, Wireless ISP Association state advocacy manager. WISPA is "cautiously optimistic" that there will be BEAD policy tweaks that open it more widely to other technologies. Schwerbel said it could be as simple as changing BEAD's notice of funding opportunity language to readdress what's considered reliable broadband technology. Including unlicensed FWA and satellite under the "reliable" rubric would let states more clearly and fully consider those options.

Schwerbel said a big challenge for some WISPA members is the cost of and uncertainty around assembling a BEAD proposal -- from securing a letter of credit to submitting an audited set of financial statements -- in hopes of competing for extremely high-cost areas. Making FWA an easier choice for states affords them a greater range of BEAD projects to consider, while giving WISPA members more confidence about competing meaningfully, he said.

At last week's monthly FCC meeting, incoming agency chairman Brendan Carr urged greater tech neutrality in the program. While tech neutrality was codified in the law creating BEAD, he said, "things moved away from that." BEAD's current path "is unsustainable," he added, as it is behind schedule and numerous states say they lack sufficient funds under BEAD's fiber-heavy approach.

While a Trump NTIA could be more open to satellite and unlicensed FWA, it shouldn't' necessarily be, Mattey said. Touting satellite and unlicensed FWA ignores questions about whether those technologies are scale-able and future-proof, she said. For example, it would be shortsighted to think satellite can deliver service that will meet the definition of broadband 10 years from now, as there are finite limits on satellite throughput.

ISLR's Mitchell said BEAD was intended to be fiber-focused, and spending on satellite wouldn't make sense, given that it's "good enough for now" technology, but not a widely employable solution. State programs in Maine and New Mexico to use SpaceX's Starlink satellite service for remote unversed locations makes sense as those are relatively small numbers of homes in extremely high-cost areas, he said.