State broadband leaders said they’re short on time – and staff – in carrying out BEAD changes The time crunch also extends to the ISPs that need to supply updated info Despite NTIA’s push to speed up permitting, states still...

Taara is working with StarTouch to expand free space optics in the enterprise market Taara’s CEO thinks FSO is beneficial for enterprises that need high-speed connectivity but don’t have access to fiber The company is also interested in BEAD and...

Op-Ed: Fiber is the gold standard for rural broadband – BEAD must emphasize it   As the federal government prepares to invest tens of billions in rural broadband through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, the choice of...

Telecom M&A defies economic headwinds in 2025, says PwC Aside from the “mega deals,” a lot of smaller M&A moves are happening Private equity rethinks rural fiber bets amid BEAD changes Despite global economic uncertainty and rising interest rates, telecom...

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a new BEAD funding notice is coming soon States will likely have to redo their grant proposals from scratch BEAD money probably won’t flow until 2026 or later, said New Street’s Blair Levin The wait...

Some Republican Senators don’t want to see a pause in the BEAD program The incoming Secretary of Commerce has been non-committal in how he might handle the BEAD program Senator Shelly Capito (R-WV) wrote in comments, “My state has jumped...

The White House wants to temporarily freeze federal grants – a move that would presumably impact the BEAD program New Street Research saw this coming, as Republicans amp up the conversation around BEAD reform Despite the pending freeze, there are...

Before anything changes with the BEAD program, Trump needs to name a new NTIA administrator States waiting for NTIA to approve their BEAD proposals may see their deployment plans stall A new NTIA regime could lower the program’s high-cost threshold,...

NTIA published its final rules on alternative BEAD technologies just weeks before the start of Trump’s second term Providers using unlicensed fixed wireless spectrum can apply for BEAD – as long as they use licensed spectrum as well Low-earth orbit...

Charter CEO Chris Winfrey shared some positive remarks about satellite broadband’s potential in rural areas The operator has already deployed a lot of fiber through RDOF, but it’s less enthusiastic about BEAD Despite the challenges in 2024, Winfrey remains optimistic...