Policy
The government’s massive broadband spending program, known as BEAD, continues to lack critical guidelines around non-deployment funds.
By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
June 10, 2026 – Frustration is mounting at the lack of guidance from federal officials around BEAD, the government’s massive broadband spending program.
This month officially marks three months since NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth postponed a planned release of guidance about the program’s non-deployment funds, which would direct states and territories how to spend more than $20 billion of the BEAD program’s $42.45 billion that was not spent on broadband deployment.
Meanwhile, only one provider is serving subscribers thanks to the program, according to a June 9 report from Broadband Breakfast.
Additionally, some providers have opted to walk away or dial back their participation in BEAD, with Nebraska being forced to reopen bidding after three providers walked away in May.
As of June 10, Illinois remains among the states yet to see their final proposal approved by the NTIA, along with California.
Nearly a month ago, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joined a growing chorus of state officials calling for more federal action on BEAD.
“With each passing day, progress is stalled, costs rise and the financial impact for providers continue to grow as they wait for these critical projects to move forward,” Pritzker said in a May 12 release. “All of this breaks your promise to get Americans connected faster and stands in the way of economic progress and prosperity for impacted families and business owners.”
How’d we get here?
As BEAD delays continue to frustrate, it’s worth looking back on how we got here.
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, included as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), was passed into law in 2021, during former President Joe Biden’s term.
The program became a political talking point in the 2024 race for president. In October of 2024, President Donald Trump even criticized BEAD during his appearance on Joe Rogan’s famed podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience.
“Elon can do it for nothing,” Trump also stated at the time, referring to Elon Musk.
In being critical of BEAD, Trump wasn’t alone. Even comedian Jon Stewart would riff on the program’s management in 2025, saying Democrats “amputated their own legs” by miring the program in bureaucracy.
Trump’s second term
Several months after Trump began his second term, in March 2025, the Department of Commerce began a review of the BEAD program.
The review caused delays, but after several months, in June 2025, states and territories were directed to submit new BEAD proposals the NTIA considered more cost-effective.
The move sent states and territories back to the drawing board to consider if they could deliver cheaper deployment options.
During the winter of 2025-26, a slate of leaner BEAD proposals began being approved by the Department of Commerce’s NTIA at breakneck speed.
In December 2025, the NTIA claimed they were saving taxpayers billions, with the agency’s administrator claiming their ‘Benefit of the Bargain’ restructuring effort for BEAD would yield $21 billion in taxpayer savings.
Months later, however, in February 2026, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick confirmed the unspent funds would still be spent during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
In March, NTIA postponed a planned release of new guidelines regarding BEAD’s non-deployment funds, citing a high level of feedback to sift through.
“The remaining $293 million—a combined $675 million from BEAD—will lead to 100% broadband connectivity in New Mexico, transforming lives and improving access to opportunity across the state,” New Mexico’s broadband office stated back in March.
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