New Guidance Will Weaken BEAD’s Ability to Close the Digital Divide, Says OTI

WASHINGTON—In response to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) releasing new guidance for states on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD), the Open Technology Institute (OTI), a New America program fostering equitable access to digital technology and its benefits, issued the following statement from Jessica Dine, a policy analyst at OTI and Wireless Future, an initiative of OTI.

NTIA claims it wants to streamline the BEAD program to more effectively close the digital divide. But the new guidance released today creates a confusing, last-minute mess of changes that don’t align with that mission. By forcing a rebidding process on an incredibly short timeline, the new policy notice is, in effect, undoing all of the states’ work on their bidding processes so far. Despite NTIA claiming to want a balanced mix of technologies funded by BEAD, the new guidance directs states to compare all applications on the basis of project cost alone. This process will likely lead to rushed outcomes that overwhelmingly favor tech with the lowest upfront costs. It largely fails to account for network quality, price for consumers, or even long-term maintenance costs. 

Streamlining broadband deployment is commendable if done right, but the focus here is clearly on cutting costs altogether without considering the long-term benefits of universal coverage. States no longer know if they can spend leftover funds on adoption or access to devices. They’re instead funding broadband buildouts without clarity on whether the broadband deployment they fund will be accompanied by programs to promote demand. By deferring this crucial aspect of BEAD guidance altogether, NTIA is showing a real lack of interest in addressing the adoption gaps that are major drivers of the digital divide.