Trump administration throws wrench into $42 billion broadband rollout

The big picture: In a sudden policy shift, the Trump administration has thrown a wrench into the nation’s largest broadband expansion effort, forcing states to overhaul plans to distribute $42 billion in federal funding aimed at closing the digital divide.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has put the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program on pause, unveiling sweeping new rules last week that require states to rethink how they allocate grants to Internet service providers. The move has left state officials scrambling to adapt, erasing months – sometimes years – of preparation.

“We had been in position to be making awards this month, but for [the Trump administration’s] deliberations and program changes, so it’s pretty unfortunate,” Andrew Butcher, president of the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) told Ars Technica. The MCA, established by a 2021 state law, leads Maine’s BEAD planning and other broadband initiatives.

The timing could not be worse. “This is the construction season,” Butcher explained. “We planned it so that projects would be able to get ready with their pre-construction activities and their construction activities beginning in the summer, so they would have all summer and through the fall and early winter to get in motion.” Now, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees BEAD, has delayed the process until at least late fall or early winter.

The BEAD program, created under the Biden administration, was designed to prioritize fiber-optic infrastructure, considered the gold standard for high-speed, reliable Internet. Over the past three years, federal officials developed detailed rules and reviewed plans from every state and territory. In Maine, that meant analyzing which homes and businesses lacked adequate service and inviting providers to bid on projects. Now, that work must be redone.

The Trump administration’s changes don’t stop at BEAD. Recently, President Trump eliminated a separate $2.7 billion grant program established by the Digital Equity Act of 2021, which was set to provide Maine with $35 million for programs like digital skills training, STEM education, and telehealth access.

A major point of contention has been the Biden administration’s preference for fiber networks. Lutnick and other Republicans argued that fixed wireless and satellite providers, such as Starlink, should have equal access to grant funding. The NTIA’s new rules require states to conduct an additional “Benefit of the Bargain Round” in their selection process, giving non-fiber providers a better chance to compete for grants.

As states like Maine race to retool their strategies, the future of America’s broadband expansion hangs in the balance. For now, officials are left to compress years of planning into a matter of weeks, hoping that the promise of universal connectivity can survive another round of political upheaval.