4 ways to improve and accelerate broadband expansion nationwide

This article was originally published by The Pew Charitable Trusts and is republished here with permission.

As states begin rolling out the federal program to expand high-speed broadband access, national policymakers need to keep the momentum going after three years of state-led outreach and planning with internet service providers and communities.

Lawmakers intended the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, to take on an ambitious goal: ensuring that every American has access to internet speeds of 100 megabits per second download and 20 Mbps upload.

The Pew Charitable Trusts’ broadband access initiative has conducted extensive research and engagement with broadband offices in nearly 40 states and territories. Our research, and more than a dozen engagements with state broadband officials, points to several recommendations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to strengthen and accelerate BEAD deployment. Doing so is good for the economy and good for the country.

Working in partnership with the states, the new administration can act swiftly and decisively to achieve a historic milestone: connecting every American to reliable, high-speed internet. NTIA can help ensure that implementation unfolds with as few obstacles as possible by:

• Eliminating unnecessary and constricting mandates that could slow the process of expanding services. For example, states can be provided with options that align with the statute, including the ability to continue with plans that have already been approved.
• Improving transparency and consistency in decision-making. That can be done in part by making public all past waivers issued to states and ensuring that guidance and decisions are consistently shared and applied across all states.
• Expediting the issuance of any remaining guidance, including for compliance, so that states and service providers can work with a full understanding of the standards to which they will be held.
• Leveraging NTIA’s leadership role in federal broadband policy to resolve interagency issues that could delay deployment, including data discrepancies and permitting approvals.

Pauses Could Have Significant Consequences

States are preparing to launch work on initiatives this year. Every state has had program plans approved, and three have received full approval for their projects from NTIA. As of Feb. 5, 2025, at least 19 states were reviewing and accepting bids for work. ISPs in these states have submitted applications to their respective broadband offices in compliance with BEAD’s current rules and are expecting to receive federal funding to start work on implementing their states’ plans to expand internet access.

NTIA and the administration should focus on removing barriers that could discourage continued participation from ISPs. For example, the federal government could offer waivers to lessen permitting requirements and minimize costly application requirements, such as the need to obtain a letter of credit from a financial institution to prove they have assets or collateral equal to the grant amount. NTIA also could strengthen state and ISP collaboration by making public all past waivers, which until now have been issued individually and not shared among the states.

Such actions would build on steps that states have already taken to reduce barriers that could limit ISP participation or impede state implementation of BEAD funds once they are disbursed. For example, West Virginia and South Carolina dedicated funding for temporary staff capacity within state agencies engaged in the permitting process, such as departments of transportation and public service commissions. Others, including Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, and Ohio, have established public-private partnerships to build a pipeline of workers.

In BEAD’s initial years, ISPs described the program’s processes as "onerous," but they also have remained active participants and partners in states’ progress, joining roundtables, providing data for challenge processes, and offering public comments on state proposals. ISPs in several states have already received notice of their awards.

In recent months, industry leaders serving rural areas have highlighted the “rewarding” moments of “real alignment” between ISPs and “policymakers who have spent thousands of hours trying to roll out this historic program in a workable way."

Implementing pragmatic, tactical solutions, such as replicating permitting processes already in use in other federal broadband programs instead of making wholesale changes to the program, would shore up trust among states and ISPs, and that process can acknowledge that the ISPs have been good-faith partners throughout this multiyear effort.

Closing the Last Mile Requires NTIA Leadership

Building, connecting, and maintaining the needed infrastructure involves a complex set of activities, such as securing permits and easements, attaching wires and other equipment to poles, and siting wireless facilities. And the processes can be especially burdensome when closing the last mile — making the actual connections to homes and businesses.

All of this requires coordination across the public and private sectors, and at every level of government. Achieving the goal of high-speed, reliable broadband for every American will require NTIA to resolve a range of barriers at the federal level.

These include delays or instances of noncompliance by ISPs that continue to occur across other federal broadband programs, such the Federal Communications Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. NTIA could help empower states to redeploy funds to other locations as the FCC continues updating its national broadband map. This should promote more effective and efficient use of dollars and avoid what can be a lengthy FCC verification process.

BEAD maintains bipartisan support

Governors nationwide agree that BEAD will be crucial to boosting their economies and helping their constituents. “We’re unlocking doors and creating greater access to good-paying jobs, high-quality education, and affordable health care,” Montana Governor Greg Gianforte (R) said last summer.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) also praised the program in September: “By ensuring that high-speed broadband internet is more accessible, we will generate educational and economic opportunities so that no New Jersey family is left behind.”

Failing to address broadband access gaps or underinvesting in the critical infrastructure needed to close them could have serious consequences for the nation’s economic competitiveness, including the ability to harness the power of artificial intelligence. Changes to the implementation of this program may be needed to fully achieve its aims. In the months ahead, Congress can act in its oversight capacity to ensure that NTIA and the states have the flexibility they need while meeting BEAD requirements.

Kathryn de Wit directs The Pew Charitable Trusts’ broadband access initiative.