On June 6, 2025, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration released its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Policy Notice which, among other things, froze funding for non-deployment efforts while the NTIA conducts a further review with plans to “issue updated guidance in the future.” NTIA went on to state that it will not reimburse Eligible Entities for “new costs associated with previously approved non-deployment activities incurred after the date of this Policy Notice.” By freezing non-deployment funding, the Policy Notice has created a challenge for Elligible Entities. NTIA is saying Eligible Entities cannot spend BEAD dollars on non-deployment activities until NTIA provides them additional guidance; while on the other hand, the statute explicitly grants Eligible Entities flexibility on whether and how to spend BEAD dollars for non-deployment activities and gives NTIA a role in expanding the list of eligible uses for those dollars. So, what is an Eligible Entity to do? As NTIA stresses in the Policy Notice: follow the statute. The statute permits use of BEAD funds for programs focused on broadband adoption, including digital skills training, device ownership, and other efforts to address the broadband adoption barrier. As such, before abandoning their non-deployment funding uses, Eligible Entities should consider what they envisioned for broadband adoption in their original BEAD plans, evaluate those needs against the changes in the guidance, and move forward to advance broadband adoption in their communities consistent with the statute. 

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