NTIA’s BEAD Technology Guidance: In Search of a Bang for the Buck
Created as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in November 2021, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is supposed to provide $42.45 billion to U.S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia to help with broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption—all overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
Now nearly three years old, the BEAD program has been beset by red tape and regulatory headaches from the outset. One of the more migraine-inducing provisions has been NTIA’s treatment of so-called “alternative technologies” such as low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites and unlicensed fixed wireless (ULFW).
Late last year, the NTIA took a small step toward relieving the pain by asking for comments on how to loosen the process for alternative technologies to qualify for BEAD grants. In our response, my colleagues and I at the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) recommended that NTIA take a more technology-neutral approach.
NTIA ultimately released its updated guidance at year-end 2024. To call the revised guidance a baby step toward technology neutrality would be an overstatement. Rather, the new guidance continues the agency’s cautious and overly hierarchical approach that risks undermining the program’s goals. While the inclusion of nontraditional technologies like LEO and ULFW is a welcome development, the NTIA’s framework falls short of embracing the much-needed technology-neutral principles essential for efficient and equitable broadband deployment.