Government change in the USA threatens FTTP operators with the loss of billions of dollars
"The players in the US broadband market have been relying on BEAD funding to help them to take FTTP to remote and underserved locations across the country, but government change puts some of that funding at risk."
The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) programme in the USA provides USD42.45 billion of funding to ensure every resident and small business in the country can be connected to reliable, affordable high-speed broadband by 2030. The programme was created by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, and after 3 years of preparation US states are getting close to the point at which they can distribute funding money for specific projects.
However, members of the incoming government including President Donald Trump have been highly critical of the BEAD programme. They have objected to the huge sum of money involved, the time it has taken for money to be distributed, the prioritisation of projects to deploy FTTP (especially to less populated areas) and the administrative hurdles that potential bidders must overcome.
Criticism has been so strong that network operators, vendors and state bodies are concerned that the BEAD programme might be terminated completely. This article considers what might happen.
Author
Simon Sherrington
Research Director, expert in fibre infrastructure and sustainabilityRelated items
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