Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the Commerce Department has launched a “rigorous review” of the BEAD program. As a rural broadband hearing was underway in the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on Wednesday, Lutnick told lawmakers that though BEAD was created in 2021, because of “the prior Administration’s woke mandates, favoritism towards certain technologies, and burdensome regulations, the program has not connected a single person to the internet and is in dire need of a readjustment.”
Lutnick said the department is “ripping out the Biden Administration’s pointless requirements. It is revamping the BEAD program to take a tech-neutral approach that is rigorously driven by outcomes, so states can provide internet access for the lowest cost.” The Department is exploring ways to cut government red tape that slows down infrastructure construction, he added. “We will work with states and territories to quickly get rid of the delays and the waste,” Lutnick emphasized.
During the hearing, Subcommittee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) announced that he and several other Republicans introduced the Streamlining Program Efficiency and Expanding Deployment (SPEED) for BEAD Act, implementing many of the changes Lutnick mentioned. “This bill would eliminate the burdensome Biden regulations so that we can get money out the door and shovels into the ground as soon as possible,” said Hudson.
Hudson explained, “Specifically, this bill would eliminate the unnecessary and expensive regulations NTIA imposed, further clarify that rate regulation by NTIA or any other entity is prohibited, ensure that the program is run on a technology-neutral basis, and more efficiently use tax dollars by ensuring that awards to providers are cost effective and that funds are only used for deployment.”
House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle blamed the other side during the hearing for mounting delays in the $42 billion BEAD program, reports Communications Daily.
“Our industry needs decisive action from federal policymakers to expand and maintain critical services in rural areas, including supporting successful implementation of the BEAD Program with reasonable modifications; restoring spectrum auction authority; and reforming the siting and permitting process to provide operators with greater certainty and drive rural broadband deployment,” Competitive Carriers Association President and CEO Tim Donovan told lawmakers.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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