- U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) believes BEAD and other federal programs have a “fundamental flaw” because Congress doesn’t entirely understand the issues
- Legislators don’t really know what broadband speeds are needed for daily tasks like homework and streaming, he said
- Curtis also talked about the issues surrounding tariffs and permitting
ACA CONNECTS SUMMIT, WASHINGTON D.C. – The trade group ACA Connects kicked off its annual summit with what’s on the forefront of everyone’s mind right now – the state of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Changes to BEAD are imminent, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick plans to eliminate the program’s fiber preference. But U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT) didn’t talk about that in today’s opening keynote. Rather, he noted BEAD – and federal programs in general – have a “fundamental flaw.”
Plainly put, a lot of members in Congress don’t entirely understand all the underlying issues with broadband access. Curtis recalled how Congress a couple of years ago was debating how much to raise the minimum fixed broadband speed (which increased last year from 25/3 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps)
It was “almost like they were talking about their gas mileage,” he said in a conversation with ACA Connects President Grant Spellmeyer. “I said, ‘when was the last time any of you ran a speed test?’ And they looked at me like I was on another planet.”
Not only do the people putting out broadband legislation not necessarily know what “100-meg” is, they don’t know how many megs are needed for basic things like homework, watching Netflix, etc.
“That’s how a program gets off track,” Curtis said.
We’ve heard no shortage of complaints about how long BEAD is taking to get going. The start of President Donald Trump’s second term further placed the program into a whirlwind of uncertainty, even though states so far seem to be moving according to plan.
“I don’t know that the program is in jeopardy, but when people see money not spent – watch out. They’re going to try to grab it,” said Curtis.
Tariffs
Trump’s 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico took effect this week, with the White House also doubling the tariff on China imports from 10% to 20%. As for the impact on telecom, vendor supply chains are likely to feel the burn.
The cost of fiber itself is high, as is the labor to put fiber in the ground. “But then you’ve got lots of associated electronics,” Spellmeyer said, some of which are built in the U.S. but others in countries like China and Taiwan.
There’s no silver lining to the tariffs, Curtis said, noting we’ve already seen how they played out during Trump’s first term. Smaller businesses and providers are the ones who stand to lose the most.
“The larger your business is…the more you’re able to absorb the extra cost. Smaller businesses [have] less opportunity to do that,” he said.
Permitting pains
If you asked the average broadband provider what their biggest deployment challenge is, chances are permitting is on the top of the list.
Permitting reform is in “a really weird spot” right now, Curtis said. Both Democrats and Republicans want to get it done, “but nobody can quite figure out what it looks like.”
The inability to move forward legislation is sadly no surprise, as evidenced by the failed efforts to restore the Affordable Connectivity Program and address other issues, such as taxation on federal broadband grants.
In the case of permitting to go across public lands, Curtis noted it can take up to a decade to secure those approvals. Permitting issues encompass not just broadband but other sectors, like energy.
“There’s huge pressure for us to get something done,” he said. “I believe we will, I just don’t know how soon.”