The BEAD legislation is explicit that the funds can be utilized for purposes beyond just subsidizing Internet service providers. According to the law, BEAD funds can be directed towards connecting qualified community anchor institutions; collecting data, mapping broadband, and planning; establishing Internet and Wi-Fi infrastructure or supplying affordable broadband to multi-family units; and providing reasonably priced Internet-capable devices.
The existing legislation also indicates that if a state does not utilize its complete allocation, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) “shall reallocate the unspent amounts to other qualified entities with sanctioned final proposals.” The law grants the NTIA’s chief discretion to allocate the funds for “any purpose deemed necessary… to promote the objectives of the Program.”
Arielle Roth, who has been managing the BEAD update in her capacity as NTIA leader, has expressed her willingness to distribute the leftover funds to states. Roth mentioned in an October 28 address that the NTIA is “evaluating how states could utilize some of the BEAD savings—commonly termed nondeployment funds—for significant outcomes like permitting reform,” but she noted that “no definitive choices have been finalized.” The Ernst legislation would remove that decision-making power from the NTIA.
States remain in limbo after Biden’s plans overturned
Following Congress’s establishment of BEAD, the Biden administration devoted about three years to formulating rules and procedures for the initiative and assessing plans submitted by each US state and territory. This process involved creating new maps that, despite inaccuracies stemming from misleading ISP submissions, offered a more precise representation of broadband coverage deficiencies than what was previously accessible.
By November 2024, the Biden administration had authorized the initial funding proposals from all states and territories. However, the Trump administration revised the program guidelines, removing a preference for fiber and insisting on lower-cost deployments.
States that could have initiated construction in the summer of 2025 were required to create new proposals and continue waiting for the grant funds. The Trump administration is also instructing states that they must exempt ISPs from net neutrality and pricing regulations to receive grant funding.
Regarding the timeline for the much-anticipated grants to be allocated, Roth stated that the NTIA is “on course to sanction the majority of state plans and release funds this year.”
