BEAD Uncertainty a Common Concern at State Offices and ISPs
NASHVILLE -- State broadband officials and broadband industry executives repeatedly voiced frustration Monday at Fiber Connect 2025 about BEAD's state of limbo. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's testimony Thursday before the House Appropriations Committee on his department's FY 2026 budget request might give states and providers stronger direction, said Lori Adams, Nokia's vice president-broadband policy and funding strategy, at the Fiber Broadband Association's annual trade show and conference. But concrete guidance from Commerce and NTIA will almost surely take longer, she added. Also at Fiber Connect 2025, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, D-Wash., said the U.S. is squatting on much of its spectrum holdings (see 2506020012).
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ISPs are frustrated with the lack of clarity from state broadband offices on BEAD, "but it’s the best we can do,” said Brian Thorn, Rhode Island's broadband strategy director. Michigan Chief Connectivity Officer Eric Frederick said all states are waiting and uncertain. It would be "absolutely devastating" for ISPs if new BEAD guidance forces them to redo their bids, given how much time and money they and states have invested already.
State broadband offices are trying to be as transparent as possible during this uncertain period, said Pamela Sherwood, Brightspeed's vice president-regulatory, compliance and broadband. Some states have run through their applications and know who would be awarded under current BEAD rules, but they're holding off on notification because it's possible that applications will have to be rescored, she said.
States also take a risk by not using fiber in broadband projects, since rules could change to make 100/20 Mbps service no longer qualify as broadband, said Bob Whitman, who oversees Corning's global carrier networks market and business development. Nokia's Adams added that demands for higher speeds will only increase, and areas using fiber alternatives will eventually need fiber.
Even once BEAD is done, states will be grappling with “odd locations that got missed,” such as those erroneously listed on maps as served, Sherwood said. She added that some states, when they remove eligible locations from a project, reduce the pro rata amount without realizing that can change economic viability.
Large carriers facing BEAD uncertainty will just build elsewhere, Whitman said. The small carriers' network builds typically include a state or federal subsidy component, as “that's all that’s left.”
Adams said companies like Nokia and Corning invested in their manufacturing capacities based on the idea of a fiber-first BEAD aimed at reaching 12 million homes. She said it’s a challenge that now the number of eligible locations is half that, and BEAD’s fiber commitment is questionable.
Minnesota Office of Broadband Development Executive Director Bree Maki said her state ended its first round of subgrantee selection at the end of April. It's now determining scoring and then will move to a second round, though the timing of that could be influenced by when BEAD guidance arrives, she said. The aim is to ease the burden on providers, Maki added.
The Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund gave Minnesota flexibility to put money into existing state programs already trusted by ISPs, Maki said, arguing that it would have been optimal if the state could have done the same with BEAD. There’s a lot of certainty among ISPs about existing programs, and BEAD's uncertainty has been challenging, she said, citing it as the reason only about 50% of eligible locations got bids in Minnesota.
Virginia Office of Broadband Director Tamarah Holmes said the state received applications covering about 92% of its 133,000 unserved or underserved locations and was able to negotiate with providers to cover the remaining 8%. She said Virginia is awaiting BEAD guidance to see what those changes do for the provisional approvals.
Frederick said Michigan's first round of applications, which closed in April, covered most eligible locations at a cost of about $5,000 each. What's left are extremely remote locations, he said.