The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program was created in 2021 as part of the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Program is a $42.45 billion initiative aimed at expanding high-speed Internet access across the areas of the country lacking broadband service. BEAD is governed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is part of the Department of Commerce. It distributes funds to states based on the number of unserved customers in each. Once a state receives its allotment, it is responsible for implementing the Program. However, four years after it was created, it is clear that BEAD has not worked. Many reports indicate that not a single new customer has obtained broadband via the BEAD program, due to a variety of regulations superfluous to broadband. That is about to change.
On June 6, 2025, NTIA issued a Policy Notice easing many of BEAD’s unnecessary regulations, which should hopefully help states and providers get broadband to more consumers. Here are some of the important changes to BEAD that will immediately take effect.
Instituting a Tech-Neutral Approach
NTIA will adopt a technology neutral approach for the BEAD selection process by returning the definition of a “Priority Broadband Project” to statutory language. Removing the preference for a single technology (Fiber) will bring the full force of the competitive marketplace to bear and allow American taxpayers to obtain the greatest return on their investment.
Removing Burdensome Labor and Employment Requirements
NTIA will limit the labor and employment requirements of the statute to a certification of compliance with existing law and eliminate the central planning and Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) labor and employment edicts that disadvantaged both workers and providers, drove up costs, and undermined broadband buildouts.
Eliminating Climate Change Requirements
NTIA will eliminate the extraneous and burdensome obligations to conduct climate analyses. Instead, NTIA guidance will focus on ensuring reliability and resiliency of the network.
Ending Oppressive Net Neutrality Requirements
NTIA will eliminate the NOFO requirement that micromanages network management and imposes wholesale access requirements on applicants.
Removing Time-Consuming, DEI-Driven Coordination Requirements
NTIA will eliminate expansive, extralegal requirements on Eligible Entities to consult with a myriad of special interest groups, including representatives from demographic and identity-based organizations.
Ending Needless Municipal Broadband Paperwork
NTIA will eliminate the flawed requirement that Eligible Entities favor participation of non-traditional broadband providers (such as municipalities or political subdivisions), an incentive that risked redirecting scarce funds to less capable providers.
Ending Backdoor Rate Regulation
NTIA will refuse to accept any low-cost service option proposed in an Eligible Entity’s Final Proposal that attempts to impose a specific rate level (i.e., dollar amount) and instead call on Eligible Entities to permit providers to propose their existing, market driven low-cost plans to meet the statutory low-cost requirement. NTIA will also eliminate the requirement that Eligible Entities have a middle-class affordability plan, which was undefined and impossible to operationalize.
Streamlining Environmental Reviews
NTIA will require the use of an NTIA-developed tool to significantly reduce the time and effort required for broadband permitting. The Environmental Screening and Permitting Tracking Tool (ESAPTT) is designed to accelerate National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processing timelines by several months and will be utilized by all Eligible Entities deploying BEAD.