Designed to invest $42.45 billion in digital equity during its existence, the BEAD Program intends to close the digital divide in the U.S., which is “whole-of-nation work,” National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Digital Equity Director Angela Thi Bennett previously told Government Technology. Experts argue the new administration will not impact the program’s continuation, but a technology-neutral focus may shape its future.
According to BEAD Program Director Evan Feinman, the program has seen a lot of progress in 2024. Chiefly, it supported 56 states and territories in their work to design detailed plans unique to their own goals, as well as policies to connect constituents. That milestone was met in April, and by November, all states and territories saw their initial proposals approved.
With these steps accomplished, Feinman said, the program will begin to move from planning into implementation. Then, because it is a state-led program, the next phases will look different in different states. Some states like Louisiana and Nevada will have shovels in the ground in a matter of months, the director said.
“So, what you can expect to see as a citizen or a local government really depends on what path your state chose to take within those [BEAD Program] guardrails, and then the speed that your state is moving through the program,” he said.
This program is structured differently from other federal programs that work to close the digital divide — those often are designed to meet unique community needs. BEAD, in contrast, is structured to be a state-led program focused on one primary goal: achieving universal coverage. Although this task requires more intensive planning in its approach, its planning will help ensure the goal is met for all Americans regardless of what state or territory they reside in.
“The problem that we’re solving here is not a red state problem or a blue state problem,” said Feinman. “It’s American.”
The U.S. Congress wrote the BEAD program’s 10-year timeline into law. Feinman’s job, and that of those executing the BEAD program, is to execute it as written. BEAD was written with specific timelines for its milestones, from the Federal Communications Commission map’s creation to state proposal submissions, and beyond.
Being that BEAD was designed to be a 10-year program, from planning and building to monitoring and oversight phases, Feinman said administration changes were always expected.
“So, this is a program that was always going to see changes, but the primary thrust of what it is that we’re doing is in statute,” he said. “As civil servants, it’s our job to faithfully execute those laws, and that’s what we anticipate doing.”
He did note that, as NTIA officials have been advised by bosses in the current administration, so it will be under the next administration.
The BEAD Program was designed to achieve universal connectivity, Feinman said, which in and of itself poses a challenge: While the cost of running a mile of fiber is relatively the same in Omaha, Neb., as it is in rural Alaska, the resulting amount of revenue differs. This is because in rural areas, fewer people are using the service, and this lower density of customers creates a gap.
As Niel Ritchie, executive director of the League of Rural Voters, explained, the effort to achieve universal connectivity is about “lifting up the entire economy.” Rural communities and stakeholders need to work with state leaders to ensure communities can maximize the impact of BEAD funding. Although rural communities are not monolithic, Ritchie emphasized that collaboration, whether through consortiums or information sharing or otherwise, is key to this process.
“It will never make sense for a private-sector company to spend millions of dollars merely to get a few households online, but it is still critical that those households get online,” Feinman explained, arguing that the challenge, then, is to ensure the necessary flexibility exists within the program to “use the right technology to solve the right problem in the right parts of their states.”
Feinman explained that the BEAD Program empowers states to deploy different technologies, like fiber, terrestrial wireless, or low Earth orbit satellites, where they will be most effective, both from a perspective of cost and efficiency, as well as policy and preference.
Digital equity stakeholders have urged practitioners to select future-proof technology for buildouts. “Future proofing” is the idea of designing a broadband network that is usable in the future, even as speed standards evolve. Ritchie called the idea “a buzzword,” arguing that while steps can be taken to build systems that will be resilient against natural disasters, security threats, or even economic disasters, the network is only the first piece in ensuring people get and stay connected. Digital literacy training and device access programing, he stressed, should also be considered in a “future-proof” strategy.
As Feinman described, all the BEAD-funded technologies are scalable and offer consistent improvements in speed, with fiber being prioritized as “the gold standard” where it makes sense. In some contexts, other technologies will make more sense, and Feinman said this will depend on the state, its topography, resources, and rural makeup.
NTIA has a host of resources to support the program and those it impacts. For entities or individuals that are struggling to understand the BEAD Program process, Feinman recommends working with the broadband office for that state; contact information can be found at internetforall.gov. Each state also has a NTIA federal program officer supporting program implementation work, to offer help.
The nation has historically seen great accomplishments in the way of infrastructure buildouts, the director said: “We did it with rural electrification, we did it with rural telephone, we did it with the interstate highway system, and this is the next chapter in that American infrastructure story,” Feinman said. “It’s one that we should all be very proud of.”
