NTIA in a 'Difficult Position' With Approving States' BEAD Plans, AAF's Westling Says
The Trump administration and NTIA are "in a difficult position" over whether to approve certain states' final BEAD plans under the agency's revised rules, wrote Jeffrey Westling, director of technology and innovation policy at the American Action Forum. In a…
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Thursday blog post, Westling said that in New Mexico, for example, some locations cost as much as $40,000 to connect, and the "staggering figures raise questions regarding whether the state fully considered its options." Noting the administration's shift from a fiber-first preference, Westling said NTIA will need to "carefully scrutinize" each plan while ensuring that states' plans aren't blocked "just because fiber won a bid."