“Broadband Update: A “Benefit of the Bargain” for the BEAD Program

President Donald Trump’s Commerce Department is revamping a key federal broadband deployment program by cutting unnecessary red tape, ensuring a fair and level playing field for providers, and restoring market competition to connect unserved communities.

For state legislators, these reforms are important to take note of because they fundamentally reshape how federal broadband funds will flow to the states, determine which projects are eligible, and impact the reach of each state’s BEAD allocation. Understanding these changes is essential for policymakers and agency officials responsible for conducting oversight, maximizing efficiency of broadband programs, rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, and ensuring constituents receive the full “Benefit of the Bargain” for their investment as taxpayers.

The State of State Broadband Policy in 2026

More than four years ago, Congress first approved a $42.45 billion federal investment in the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the program’s original purpose was to deploy high-speed broadband to unserved and underserved communities across the United States.

Unfortunately, when it came time for federal agencies to implement this program, the Biden Administration quickly lost sight of its purpose and injected unrelated progressive priorities disguised as “guidelines” for states in the initial Notice of Funding Opportunity. Biden-era BEAD grants were mired in extraneous requirements compelling states to address labor, climate, and DEI considerations, along with affordability-related riders that amounted to rate regulation.

Naturally, these initial compliance challenges significantly delayed federal BEAD funding for state applicants. At the time, then-FCC Commissioner and now FCC Chairman Brendan Carr observed that states were so stymied by regulatory red tape that not one home was connected through this program after years of stagnation.

New BEAD Reforms Streamline Broadband Deployment

In June 2025, new leadership at the NTIA promptly issued a BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice focused on establishing and maintaining technological neutrality and eliminating regulatory burdens. The new and improved BEAD program expands grant eligibility to include a wider array of technologies, such as Low Earth Orbit satellites and fixed wireless technology. It also established a “Benefit of the Bargain Round” that permitted all grant applicants to compete on a level playing field.

Beyond promoting technological neutrality, these updates also eliminated the problematic labor, climate, and DEI requirements, discarded rate regulation mandates providing for “middle-class affordability” plans and low-cost options not driven by market conditions, and ended favorable treatment for government-owned broadband networks.

Following these reforms, the NTIA rescinded all previously approved final proposals and required states to resubmit under the new framework. The revised selection criteria placed greater emphasis on cost efficiency, rewarding lower-bid proposals and increasing the weight given to private sector matching contributions. This shift benefits providers capable of offering competitive pricing.

As of late 2025, nearly all states and U.S. territories submitted their revised final proposals, with NTIA approving several dozen. According to the Trump administration, these reforms will generate approximately $21 billion in taxpayer savings by increasing competition and reducing deployment costs. States that have signed award amendments can now begin accessing BEAD funds for deployment projects.

Additionally, the NTIA rescinded approval for all previous spending authorized as “non-deployment” under BEAD, including funds earmarked for equity initiatives such as digital literacy training, device distribution programs, and workforce development. The NTIA indicated that new guidance on permissible uses for non-deployment funds would be forthcoming, though states are currently uncertain about how to allocate such BEAD dollars in the interim.

By removing unnecessary federal mandates, restoring a technology‑neutral framework, and emphasizing cost‑effective deployment, President Trump’s BEAD reforms will give states far greater flexibility to select projects that truly meet local needs, while promising substantial taxpayer savings and a clearer path toward closing the “digital divide” once and for all.