NTIA Hears from the Public on How to Best Use BEAD Savings
It was full steam ahead for the BEAD program this week, as NTIA works to get the program over the finish line and considers its next phase: how to effectively invest the remaining BEAD funds.
On Monday, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth announced that NTIA has now approved 50 out of 56 BEAD Final Proposals from states and territories, moving one step closer to ensuring universal broadband availability across America.
The next day, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, where he detailed the success of the Trump Administration’s Benefit of the Bargain reforms in restoring the BEAD program to its statutory mission of achieving universal connectivity in a technology-neutral, competitive, and disciplined manner, while generating $21 billion in savings for taxpayers.
Secretary Lutnick confirmed that $21 billion in BEAD savings would be spent in accordance with the law and highlighted NTIA’s efforts to gather feedback on how to best use the remaining funds.
Several Senators took the opportunity to share their own ideas during the hearing. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia suggested the funding could help address rising costs and delays related to permitting and pole attachments and replacements. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska highlighted the adoption of precision agriculture technologies as critical for states with significant farmland.
Later that same day, Assistant Secretary Roth led a closed-door listening session with leaders from all 56 states and territories’ broadband offices. Representatives from 45 states and territories shared how they hope to use the BEAD savings, with additional states sending in written comments.
Then, on Wednesday, NTIA heard from the broader public, with over 1,400 registering for our listening session and more than 1,000 unique participants logging in. In the time allotted, we heard from approximately 50 local officials, industry representatives, advocates, and members of the public.
Common Themes
Throughout the two sessions, many participants called for using the savings to enhance public safety, such as funding upgrades to our nation’s outdated 911 call centers. Participants argued that using BEAD funding to upgrade infrastructure to ‘Next Generation 911’ would enhance the public’s ability to communicate with first responders, improve response times, and ensure greater reliability of emergency services.
Participants also said funding could be used to streamline state and local permitting processes and prevent delays to broadband buildout. Despite efforts to streamline permitting at the federal level, many challenges persist with state and local permitting, and it was suggested that some funding could be used to explore creative solutions, including permitting-related workforce training.
Several participants urged that the funding should be used to address excessive screen and internet use in the classroom and mitigate developmental, academic, and physical risks associated with screen-based curricula and one-to-one device usage in K-12 schools. Proposals included auditing educational technology companies and funding technology-free classrooms.
Others pitched using BEAD funds to increase broadband resilience and redundancy, to ensure consumers remain connected in the event of natural disasters and cyber outages.
Additional speakers urged NTIA to use the funds to modernize our aging Air Traffic Control system, while others supported programs to expand mobile broadband service infrastructure. Several others voiced support for broadband adoption and digital literacy initiatives.
Finally, many advocated for using a portion of the savings as a reserve fund that could be used to connect any remaining unserved locations due to defaults in other broadband programs or new unserved locations identified in the latest National Broadband Map.
What’s Next
In response to the overwhelming interest in the public listening session, NTIA plans to hold an additional listening session next Wednesday, February 18th from 2:00 – 4:00 pm. Those interested in joining can register here.
We are grateful for the public’s participation, which helps inform NTIA’s determination of how states may use the Benefit of the Bargain BEAD savings. We look forward to releasing guidance on the funding and maximizing the value of the BEAD program for the American people.