The Trump administration plans to overhaul a $42 billion broadband program that was born during the Biden presidency but has failed to connect anyone to the internet, according to documents reviewed by The Free Press.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will tell Congress in a letter on Friday that it intends to remove “burdensome regulations” tied to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The BEAD Program was authorized in 2021 under President Joe Biden’s signature $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and promised to bring reliable internet service to 25 million Americans. The proposed changes do not require Congressional approval, administration officials said.
The program asked U.S. states and territories to come up with plans “to expand high-speed internet access” and it set aside federal funding ranging from $27 million in the Virgin Islands to $3.3 billion in Texas.