Stakeholders Talk, NTIA Listens on How Best to Deploy BEAD Nondeployment Funds

States, territories, and their communities that lack sufficient internet access have been wondering what will happen to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program’s “nondeployment funds”—funds left over after a state meets BEAD’s infrastructure deployment goals. Since the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) June 6 BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice—which left the fate of these funds up in the air—broadband and digital equity stakeholders have been waiting with bated breath to hear more from the agency about whether or not nondeployment funds will be made available, and what that might look like.

On February 10, Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified before the Senate Committee on Appropriations and confirmed that NTIA has no intention of keeping states from receiving all allocated funds, including nondeployment funds.

On Wednesday, NTIA held its first of two listening sessions on the “Use of BEAD Funds Saved Through the Trump Administration’s Benefit of the Bargain Reforms.” Almost fifty people—out of over a thousand in attendance—were able to speak, for two minutes each, about what the nondeployment funding would mean to them. Here are some of the major arguments for what to do with those funds voices during the listening session.

A Quick Refresher on BEAD Funding Uses

As mandated by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, states and territories may use BEAD funds to make subgrants to:

• Deploy broadband networks to unserved and underserved areas,
• Connect community anchor institutions,
• Conduct data collection, broadband mapping, and planning;
• Install internet and Wi-Fi infrastructure or provide reduced-cost broadband within multifamily residential buildings; and
• Increase broadband adoption, including programs to provide affordable internet-capable devices. 

In addition, Congress authorized Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Arielle Roth to determine additional uses of these funds to facilitate BEAD’s goals. NTIA’s listening sessions are meant to inform Roth’s determination on additional uses.

Device Access and Digital Skills

Chief among topics brought up by speakers during the listening session were access to 1) access to affordable devices and 2) digital skills learning opportunities.

According to Karisa Tashijan, Chief Program Officer at Digitunity, one in seven people in the United States, or approximately 33 million people, do not have access to a home computer. Tashijan said that in some counties, that number can climb to nearly 50 percent. For anyone lacking computer access or the digital skills to use their device, meaningful internet use is that much further away.

“Broadband infrastructure without computers is like building schools without books,” she said. “We cannot achieve broadband for all if we only address half the problem.”

Tashijan urged NTIA to release the full allocation of BEAD “savings” to states and territories to support broadband adoption programs.

Margaret Kaufer, President of the STEM Alliance, said that the people who lack internet access also struggle to make themselves heard when opportunities arise, such as in these listening sessions.

“If you’ve never owned a computer, never learned how to navigate job portals, and never had affordable internet, you can’t really show up in Washington and demand support,” she said. “You’re simply living an analog life in a digital economy. NTIA believes in economic competitiveness, workforce strength, and ensuring federal investments deliver measurable returns.”

Kaufer said that funding digital skills training helps make full use of the infrastructure being built under BEAD.

“Millions of Americans cannot use the infrastructure we’re building, and that has consequences,” she said. “Adoption funding strengthens deployment. When households are prepared to subscribe and use services, providers see demand faster, networks are utilized more, and the full investment performs as intended.”

Affordable Broadband Solutions

Speakers from nonprofits, policy think tanks, and local government addressed the broadband affordability gap and the need for more support for low-income households.

The BEAD Program initially required subgrantees to offer low-cost service options and middle-class affordability plans. The June 6 policy notice removed the middle-class affordability requirement and loosened the low-cost service option requirement, allowing internet service providers (ISPs) to set their own low-cost service standards.

While BEAD funding still supports affordable device access, many speakers at the listening session said more dedicated support is needed through non-deployment funding. Ellis Sherer, Policy Analyst for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, emphasized the need for affordable broadband support that extends beyond BEAD-funded deployment areas.

“Affordability gaps aren’t in the same places as deployment gaps were,” said Sherer. “This funding should be open to households statewide that meet the eligibility requirements. While there are not enough remaining funds to support affordability programs indefinitely, there are sufficient funds to provide support for long enough that the affordability barriers of today are significantly lessened.”

Drew Garner, Director of Policy Engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, said that states should have the flexibility to use non-deployment funds for a variety of affordability needs, including providing reduced-cost broadband and device distribution programs.

“When Congress created BEAD, they found, in the opening lines, that broadband is essential to full participation in modern life, and that the benefits of broadband should be broadly enjoyed by all,” he said. “Congress’s goal was to address every facet of the digital divide and to ensure that all people can benefit from essential services, not simply have the network pass their homes.”

Garner said that ensuring affordable broadband and devices is essential for BEAD to function effectively.

“For BEAD to succeed, it has to address the primary cause of the digital divide, which is broadband affordability,” he continued. “It has to make sure that people can adopt broadband, primarily through digital navigator programs, which are necessary to get people to adopt—and benefit from—broadband. And we need to give states the flexibility to innovate because states, after all, understand their communities best. “

The Federal Communications Commission’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which expired in 2024, previously provided an affordable broadband subsidy to low-income households and Tribal communities nationwide. In the wake of the sunset of ACP, many have advocated for a replacement program at the federal, state, and community levels. 

“Affordability is the primary barrier for adoption across all demographics,” said Jason Inofuentes, Program Manager at the Broadband Accessibility and Affordability Office of Albemarle County (VA). “The other $20 billion in BEAD funding will be entirely wasted if the newly connected cannot afford [a] connection. States and territories should be allowed to and encouraged to use these funds to develop statewide broadband affordability programs.”

Returning the Funds to Treasury

A handful of speakers, primarily from think tanks or taxpayer advocacy organizations, urged NTIA to return any potential non-deployment funds to the U.S. Treasury Department and to limit BEAD to infrastructure-only funding.

James Irwin, Director of Innovation Policy at Americans for Tax Reform, said that BEAD serves its purpose as is.

“The question we need to ask,” he said, “and you need to ask as the steward of taxpayer dollars, is: is this really necessary, and what [does it] need to be used for? BEAD was created as an infrastructure program to reach the last mile unserved locations, not as a permanent welfare program to permanently subsidize device purchases.”

Luke Hogg, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, concurred with Irwin.

“BEAD was sold to the public as a once-in-a-generation effort to connect unserved Americans, not as a permanent slush fund,” he said. “If improved mapping technology, neutral competition, and removal of costly red tape mean that we can achieve universal connectivity for less, [then] that is a policy success in itself, and the correct response is to return the unspent balance to the U.S. Treasury for deficit reduction, not to invent new non-employment categories that expand BEAD’s mission retroactively.”

Speakers who addressed this topic urged NTIA to conduct a rigorous audit of the BEAD Program and set a firm closeout timeline, unimpeded by other uses of funding beyond infrastructure.

Public Safety and Emergency Communications

First-responder and public-safety organizations pressed NTIA to use non-deployment funds to bolster U.S. emergency response infrastructure, next-generation 911, and cybersecurity infrastructure.

“Advanced emergency response systems are urgently needed, but are lacking in many communities due to limited funding,” said Donald Brittingham, interim Executive Director for the Industry Council for Emergency Response Technologies (ICERT). “[Next-generation 911] is the broadband version of 911. Even as access to broadband has increased [for] citizens across the country, [the] benefits will not be fully realized if citizens cannot use this advanced technology to access the emergency services they need. It is clear that modernizing emergency response increases the social and economic value of broadband networks.”

Gabe Elias, Statewide Interoperability Coordinator for the Commonwealth of Virginia, said that updated emergency communications systems go hand in hand with improved disaster resilience for broadband infrastructure networks.

“Even roads and bridges that are made of concrete and steel give way to the right combination of wind and water and ice,” Elias said. “We know that the last mile will get blocked sometimes. Let’s leverage this opportunity in our local and state first responder [communications] teams to push solutions like [low-earth orbit] satellite, wifi, cellular, and a little bit of backup power to disaster-impacted, especially rural communities, and bring them back online at command posts, community centers, and churches.”

State and Local Flexibility

A handful of speakers from research and local government organizations stressed that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for BEAD-funded deployment and wouldn’t work for non-deployment either.

Sophia Bock of the Pew Charitable Trusts said that one way to ensure flexible funding use is for NTIA to set the tone for the options available to states with nondeployment funds, while still allowing them to make decisions based on specific needs.

“NTIA should establish clear guardrails for allowable [nondeployment] uses while maintaining flexibility for states to address the unique needs of their local providers and economies,” she said. “For example, some states may benefit from putting funds toward pole replacements, while others may need to prioritize worker training; both use cases will still shore up the success of the BEAD Program.”

To do this, NTIA needs to support states every step of the way, Bock added.

“We encourage NTIA to issue guidance that is decisive, clear, and timely,” she said. “Reporting requirements and accountability standards should be clearly defined and established before funds are awarded, enabling states and partners to plan accordingly and align efforts toward meeting their shared goals.”

Liliana Aide Monge, Director of Digital Equity at the Los Angeles (CA) regional broadband consortium UNITE-LA, advocated using non-deployment funds to build digital inclusion ecosystems.

“[H]elp broadband stakeholders build ecosystems within our communities, not just fund specific inclusion activities that are typically funded through non-deployment funding programs,” said Monge. “We would appreciate an opportunity to play a role as an intermediary between digital adoption activities that are to be funded, as well as deployment efforts that are currently underway.”

Round 2 is Coming up on February 18

The second virtual listening session on the use of BEAD non-deployment funds will take place on Wednesday, February 18, from 2-4 pm Eastern Time.

Written input can be submitted by anyone via email to broadbandgrants@ntia.gov by 5 pm (Eastern) on the same day.