{"id":461,"date":"2026-06-30T21:11:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=461"},"modified":"2026-06-30T21:11:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:11:36","slug":"billions-in-rural-broadband-funds-still-on-hold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=461","title":{"rendered":"Billions in rural broadband funds still on hold"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Funds totaling about $20 billion delayed under the federal rural broadband internet program will be subject to new guidance \u201cthis summer,\u201d the agency head overseeing the project said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

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National Telecommunications and Information Administration leader Arielle Roth gave lawmakers that timeline at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, where she was pressed about the agency\u2019s commitment to make the funds available to states.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roth also deferred specifics on the question of whether those funds will be held back from states that enact regulations on artificial intelligence, as directed by a presidential executive order.<\/p>\n

After approving state and territory plans for broadband deployment under the $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, NTIA and the larger Commerce Department delayed guidance for the remaining billions in so-called non-deployment funds in March.<\/p>\n

Questioned about the delay by Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C., Roth said the agency was nearing release of its plans but did not set a date other than \u201cthis summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want the funding \u2026 to produce real measurable outcomes, be non-duplicative, non-distortionary\u2026.\u201d Roth said.<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cwe\u2019re proceeding cautiously in producing the guidance so that we can ensure that this funding achieves the same success as the first segment of the BEAD program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hudson offered his support for using some of the non-deployment funds for upgrading to Next Generation 911, a system based on internet protocol.<\/p>\n

AI questions<\/h2>\n

Also in March, NTIA was expected to release a policy notice, required by President Donald Trump\u2019s December executive order, to link access to remaining BEAD funds to whether states have artificial intelligence laws deemed \u201conerous\u201d by the administration.<\/p>\n

Roth told subcommittee ranking member\u00a0Doris Matsui, D-Calif., that there is a \u201csymbiotic relationship\u201d between broadband and AI, but that \u201cno final decision\u201d has been made on the policy notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to prejudge outcomes before we\u2019ve completed our review. What I can say is \u2026 the report will comply with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matsui said her state should not have to choose between its AI laws and funding to connect rural and other underserved communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress passed the bipartisan infrastructure law to connect Americans to affordable, reliable broadband. It did not condition broadband funding on whether a state regulates AI,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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Matsui is a co-sponsor of a bill that would repeal Trump\u2019s executive order.<\/p>\n

Republicans, including Roth, have long criticized management of the BEAD program under the Biden administration, saying that environmental, labor and technology requirements prevented any deployment over the course of three years.<\/p>\n

Multiple lawmakers questioned Roth about the particular timeline for broadband deployment in their states. Roth did not make commitments on those questions.<\/p>\n

Roth told the panel that so far, Louisiana and Nebraska have \u201cgotten communities connected\u201d through fixed wireless projects and five states have \u201csigned agreements with satellite providers.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to NTIA\u2019s\u00a0dashboard, updated last month, final BEAD deployment proposals have been approved for all states except for California and Illinois.<\/p>\n

Rep. Nanette Barrag\u00e1n, D-Calif., said she finds \u201cit a little hard to believe that the two states that haven\u2019t been approved are some of the \u2026 two bluest states that we\u2019ve got.\u201d She asked Roth if she\u2019d been directed to slow California\u2019s application or if the state was being held to a different standard.<\/p>\n

Roth denied both and said the administration is \u201cworking actively to get California\u2019s application approved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Democrats remain critical of NTIA\u2019s current management of the program, which included a restructuring last summer to focus the program on the cheapest possible deployment options. Democrats say that change was meant to benefit Trump ally Elon Musk and his Starlink satellite internet service.<\/p>\n

The full committee\u2019s ranking member, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., called the revamp \u201cinexcusable\u201d and said it had increased costs for those connected.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now we\u2019re seeing broadband providers leave the BEAD program and surrender their awards one after the other, not because of decisions made by the states, but because of moving goalposts and mismanagement from NTIA,\u201d Pallone said.<\/p>\n

Roth said that about 1 percent of BEAD locations have been affected by \u201cchanges\u201d and that \u201cthere are multiple reasons\u201d that might cause providers to reject their awards under BEAD.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that we planned and we have a process in place to ensure that areas that are subject to changes get served. And we\u2019ve successfully backfilled in about a dozen states where that\u2019s occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court backs state transgender athlete bans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Funds totaling about $20 billion delayed under the federal rural broadband internet program will be subject to new guidance \u201cthis summer,\u201d the agency head overseeing the project said Tuesday. National Telecommunications and Information Administration leader Arielle Roth gave lawmakers that timeline at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, where she was pressed about the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-policy"],"yoast_head":"\nBillions in rural broadband funds still on hold - American Industry Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=461\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Billions in rural broadband funds still on hold - American Industry Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Funds totaling about $20 billion delayed under the federal rural broadband internet program will be subject to new guidance \u201cthis summer,\u201d the agency head overseeing the project said Tuesday. 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