Post-Election Outlook | A New Approach to Broadband Funding

December 9, 2024

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Targeting Overbuilds and Improving Coordination Among Agencies. Under Commissioner Brendan Carr, expect to see a new approach to broadband funding that is focused on encouraging coordination of broadband funds among agencies and eliminating the government-funded overbuilding of existing networks. Commissioner Carr has noted that although hundreds of billions of infrastructure dollars have been appropriated by Congress and budgeted by agencies in recent years, federal broadband efforts are “fragmented and overlapping, with more than 100 programs administered by 15 agencies,” which he says risks “overbuilding as well as wasteful duplication.” To combat this, Commissioner Carr has voiced support for the adoption of a new strategy designed to facilitate coordination between the various agencies responsible for awarding broadband funds.

BEAD. Expect a review of the handling of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program under the new Trump administration. Republicans have questioned the effectiveness of the $42.5 billion program and purported delays in the deployment of funding to states. Republicans have also criticized the BEAD Program’s focus on fiber-optic cable deployment over other broadband technologies, claiming it overlaps with existing federal subsidy programs and is ripe for waste, fraud and abuse. Commissioner Carr has slammed certain aspects of the BEAD Program, including “diversity, equity and inclusion requirements, climate-change rules, price controls, preferences for union labor, and schemes that favor government-run networks.” Former Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker predicts that the second Trump administration “will be in a much better position to remove these extraneous constraints,” which he noted were put in place by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) “without statutory authorization.” Sen. Ted Cruz similarly indicated that “substantial changes are on the horizon” for the program, and that Republicans will “consider every option” to address the BEAD Program’s shortcomings, including the elimination of “unlawful and onerous bureaucratic obstacles imposed by the Biden-Harris NTIA,” once they take over the majority in Congress. In light of the expected review and revision of the BEAD Program, on November 21, Sen. Cruz sent a letter to NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson requesting that NTIA “pause unlawful, extraneous BEAD activities and avoid locking states into in any final actions.” Experts are split on whether such a review will speed the process of rolling out BEAD Program funds by clearing bureaucratic red tape, or further delay the rollout by meddling with a complex project that is already in progress. Republicans have also been highly critical of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) broadband maps, which are used to determine which areas should be eligible for broadband funding, including through the BEAD Program.

Affordable Connectivity Program. Congress will also need to look at the future of the FCC’s now-expired Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which helped low-income Americans purchase Internet access. One option that has been discussed is to fold it into the Universal Service Fund (USF) program or Congress could fund it separately, although Senate Commerce Committee leadership has voiced opposition to appropriating any new funding to the program. There is bipartisan support for ACP, but Republicans have sought reforms before agreeing to additional funding, including new eligibility requirements, cutting the monthly funding amount and new verification requirements.

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On June 5, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a tentative agenda for its next Open Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 26 at 10:30 AM ET. This release occurred a day before Commissioners Simington and Starks stepped down from their roles at the FCC, leaving the Commission with only two sitting commissioners—Chairman Carr and Commissioner Gomez. A quorum of three commissioners is required in order for the FCC to conduct Commission-level business. While the Commission will be able to continue with bureau-level proceedings, the lack of quorum raises legal and practical questions about the Commission’s ability to adopt new rules, such as the rules contained in the two draft Report and Orders below. Quorum, however, can be regained if Congress can confirm President Trump’s nominee, Olivia Trusty, as a new Republican Commissioner prior to the June Open Meeting. Recognizing this, on June 12, Senate Majority Leader Thune filed a “notice of cloture” that will allow the Senate to debate, and then vote, on Trusty’s nomination by the end of next week. Trusty’s appointment would allow the Commission to act on three items that are expected to be considered at the Open Meeting, which are detailed below:

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June 11, 2025

On June 6, 2025, the Commerce Department issued new guidance in the $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The guidance, titled the “BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice,” introduces many significant changes to the broadband deployment subsidy program, most notably:

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2025-06-03

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held its May Open Meeting on Thursday, May 22, during which it voted to adopt three items: (1) a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to require holders of certain Commission-issued licenses, authorizations or approvals to certify whether they are owned by, controlled by or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary; (2) a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (R&O/FNPRM) that aims to strengthen requirements and oversight relating to telecommunications certification bodies (TCBs), measurement facilities (test labs) and accreditation bodies; and (3) a FNPRM seeking comment on ways that the 12.7-13.25 gigahertz (GHz) and 42.0-42.5 GHz bands could be used more intensively for satellite communications.

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Olivia Trusty, nominee for the open Republican Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) Commissioner position, appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Trusty has significant telecommunications experience on Capitol Hill and is a longtime protégé of Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS). She is the Republican staff lead for the Senate Armed Services Committee, working with the Cybersecurity Subcommittee, where she has worked on issues related to spectrum allocated to military and national security uses. She was also a policy director for the Senate Commerce Committee, and specifically worked with the Communications, Media, and Broadband Subcommittee. Additionally, she was previously a legislative assistant to Sen. Wicker, focusing on matters related to communications, technology, innovation and the internet.

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April 10, 2025

On April 7, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) released a tentative agenda for its next Open Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Monday, April 28 at 10:30 a.m. ET. The Commission released public drafts of four items that are expected to be considered at the Open Meeting, which are detailed below:

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April 1, 2025

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held its March Open Meeting last Thursday, March 27, during which it voted to adopt the three items discussed in our last blog post and recent client alert: (1) a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) exploring alternatives to Global Positioning Technology (GPS), (2) a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) containing proposals to ensure the reliability and interoperability of Next Generation 911 (NG911) networks, and (3) an FNPRM seeking comment on proposals to strengthen caller location accuracy requirements for wireless calls to 911. The final versions of these documents reflected several changes from the drafts that were circulated in early March, as detailed below:

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March 11, 2025

On March 6, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a tentative agenda for its next Open Meeting, which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 27 at 10:30 a.m. ET. The FCC released public drafts of three of the four items expected to be considered at the Open Meeting:

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February 24, 2025

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