State officials are waiting for guidance on how they can spend billions of federal dollars earmarked for rural broadband projects.
The federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment, or BEAD, Program is meant to help states connect far-flung places to high speed internet. Congress allocated about $42 billion for BEAD in 2023 through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It was the largest investment in federal broadband infrastructure in the nation's history.
States had to rework project proposals last year to lower the cost of the program under new rules from the Trump administration, which spurred worries about long-term connectivity.
In March, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), announced the program’s cost for infrastructure deployment lowered because of the new rules, leaving about $21 billion in remaining funding.
But so far, the agency has left states in the dark about how they can use the money.
“To date, they've missed a number of deadlines that they had previously given themselves to release that guidance,” said Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at nonprofit Benton Institute of Broadband and Society.
Garner said the money is meant for non-infrastructure needs, like digital skills training. The NITA held listening sessions to determine the best uses of the money earlier this year. But Garner said there isn’t a clear idea of when specific instructions will be released – and when states can spend the money.
Last week, the NTIA finished approving all of the program’s final project proposals. As states work on installing cables and towers, lawmakers are watching the leftover funds.
The Western Governors' Association, which includes Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, sent a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, asking for guidance in March.
When U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R- Nebraska, asked Lutnick when federal guidance will be released in April, he said the plan would be issued in the next two months. Neither Fischer nor NTIA officials responded to Harvest Public Media’s requests for an interview.
As of late August, state offices have not received the information.
“These non-deployment funds will just sort of allow us to get the best return on investment out of our broadband networks, whether BEAD or otherwise,” Garner said. “It's sort of like the gas in the tank of the BEAD program."
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
Federal data shows about 1 in 5 rural residents and a quarter of tribal lands lack broadband access.
Michigan received about $1.5 billion though BEAD. Eric Frederick, the state’s chief connectivity officer, said about $1 billion is for building the infrastructure to about 200,000 locations in the program. That leaves more than half a billion dollars waiting to be used.
BEAD is not only about wires in the ground and signals in the air. Frederick said it includes addressing other challenges to getting people online.
“That means addressing affordability, addressing devices, digital skills, AI literacy, you name it,” Frederick said. “There's a whole host of things as technology continues to evolve, so do our needs on that side.”
Not having guidance or knowing when the dollars will be released means his office can’t plan ahead, he said. That includes designing budgets and hiring additional staff. “We are very hopeful that it'll come out soon,” Frederick said.
The Trump administration’s new rules were wrapped up in the “Benefit of the Bargain Round” which was put in place to “remove rules favoring particular technologies and eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens,” according to a 2025 press release.
Despite efforts to reduce red tape, Frederick said there will always be hurdles in big federal programs. He said his office will continue to work to get people connected.
“It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. We don't want to squander it,” Frederick said.
Work still being done
Some states have already allocated money to improve internet connectivity, including using federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act and Capital Project Funds.
BEAD had been a long time coming, said BJ Tanksley, director for the Missouri Office of Broadband Development. He said it's a big investment with loads of work behind it.
Throughout the summer, Tanksley said his office has worked with internet providers to sign agreements. He said Missouri had more than 200,000 locations in need of service.
“And we were able to get every one of them awarded service,” Tanksley said. “That means everybody that doesn't have access to quality service today, will have some service funded to bring them high quality broadband in the near future, about four years to finish the deployment.”
He anticipates groundbreakings to start happening sometime early next year to finish the projects. As for the leftover funds, Missouri has more than $900 million remaining.
Tanksley has ideas for how to use the money but ultimately, those decisions will happen once the state gets guidance.
“I do think sooner rather than later, we'll have a good idea what we can do with these funds,” Tanksley said. “But I don't have any kind of certainty of a date or any kind of inside information there. The last we heard was end of summer.”
Minnesota received $652 million through BEAD – which is not enough to connect the rest of the state, said Bree Maki, the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development’s executive director. She’s waiting for instructions for how she can spend about $270 million.
“We also know that weather in Minnesota is a big factor and so, just trying to maximize the construction season and when the non-deployment comes out, you know, we'll deal with it,” Maki said. “We have always worked hard to meet deadlines and the requirements in front of us. I wish I could predict that, because then I would go hit the lottery up.”
She’s also unsure how an executive order on artificial intelligence signed by President Donald Trump last year might impact access to the leftover BEAD money. The order says that states with “onerous AI laws” are ineligible for the funds, but that definition remains unclear, Maki said.
There has been frustration with BEAD, but Maki said the mission of getting even one person connected to reliable broadband keeps her office motivated. Her state has other broadband projects in the works too, and she is confident they will keep moving forward.
“Sometimes, I think, in all the noise we forget how meaningful that is,” Maki said.
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
