In the wake of the Trump administration’s re-writing the rules around how federal funds can be spent to expand high-speed Internet access, state broadband offices are in the midst of revamping their broadband deployment grant programs to comply with a “technology-neutral” framework recently imposed on the $42.5 billion federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) program.

Though most states hoped to maximize federal grant funding to build fiber networks, the new guidance released by NTIA in June requires states to ignore the aim of Congress enacted under the bipartisan infrastructure law.

The new NTIA rules call for states to de-prioritize fiber and give equal weight to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite technologies – something many observers see as a gift to Starlink and a way for the President’s biggest campaign contributor to hoover up additional subsidies.

As states wrestle with how to re-do their scoring rubrics used to determine grant awards, today four leading broadband deployment scholars working with the X-Lab released an analysis that may help state broadband offices evaluate “the capacities and saturation limits of the Starlink satellite infrastructure.”

The overarching goal is to help states determine where – and if – Starlink can meet federal requirements for broadband, which is defined as delivering minimum connection speeds of at least 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload.

For decades U.S. broadband policymaking has been plagued by inaccurate and badly-managed data that has significantly harmed efforts to not just track U.S. broadband deployment, but ensure that billions in taxpayer dollars are being wisely spent to address the problem.

From inaccurate broadband mapping data and an over-reliability on industry-provided coverage claims, to inconsistent broadband definitions and patchwork federal oversight, a new study by the Pew Charitable Trusts examined decades of U.S. broadband policy, and data analysis and found plenty of room for improvement.

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According to a 2022 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, there have been 133 programs across 15 federal agencies supporting and funding U.S. broadband deployment efforts, propped up by more than $44 billion in taxpayer dollars from 2015 to 2020 alone.

ILSR studies have historically shown those funds haven’t always been spent wisely; often being dumped into the laps of the very same regional telecom monopolies whose attacks on competition and government oversight resulted in substandard access in the first place.

There’s billions more waiting in the wings: as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), $25 billion was specifically earmarked for broadband expansion.

Empower Broadband, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Virginia-based Mecklenburg Electrical Cooperative, says it has successfully deployed affordable fiber access to more than 7,500 subscribers across long-neglected and underserved portions of the Old Dominion state.

Mecklenburg Coop, created in 1938, serves 31,000 residential and business electrical customers across portions of nine Southside Virginia counties and five northern North Carolina counties. Like many cooperatives, Mecklenburg and Empower are leveraging generations-old experiences at rural electrification to migrate into the broadband business.

In 2022, the coop broke ground on a $154 million initiative to bring high-speed internet to 14,634 unserved and underserved locations in Halifax, Mecklenburg, and the southern portions of Charlotte and Brunswick counties. As of today, the Mecklenburg fiber network consists of 2,900 miles of fiber and passes by 23,443 locations, with additional expansion planned.

Maine Connectivity Authority President Andrew Butcher has his 1984 yellow Volkswagen van – affectionately known as “Buttercup” – all gassed up and ready to barnstorm across Maine this week.

Butcher and his team will visit libraries, community centers, town halls, Tribal governments, connectivity hubs, and telehealth locations all across the Pine Street State as state broadband officials and local connectivity champions celebrate the broadband expansion work that’s already been done and to gather “local insights (for) the next phase of work.”

The five-day “Driving Connections” tour will highlight broadband infrastructure investments the state has made to bring high-speed Internet access to 86,000 homes and businesses over the past several years.

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But, perhaps more crucial to the mission: the tour also aims to rally state leaders and local communities to continue the work, even as the Trump administration “terminated” the Digital Equity Act last month and more recently drastically altered the infrastructure-focused BEAD program – both of which have undermined state’s efforts to expand Internet connectivity and eliminate barriers to broadband adoption.

“It feels like an important time to show how we are connected to each other in more ways than just high-speed Internet connections,” Butcher told ILSR in the days leading up to the tour.

Tired of the high prices, spotty coverage, and slow speeds of regional monopoly broadband providers, the remote West Texas city of Monahans has spent the last decade taking matters into their own hands.

Now, thanks to hard work, determination, and local philanthropy, the city’s 7,500 residents are headed for the right side of the digital divide.

Carroll Faulkner, who consulted with the city on its project, and Teresa Burnett, executive director of the Monahans Chamber of Commerce, told ILSR the project to bring Monahans into the modern era has been a challenging labor of love.

It has recently culminated in the completion of the first phase of the project, bringing affordable fiber to around 2,000 residents in city 36 miles southwest of Odessa.

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“We are very passionate about this project,” Burnett told ILSR. “It's been a lot of ups and downs, and it's been 10 long years.”

The city’s network build is in partnership with Hosted America, which is acting as the first last mile ISP serving residents, and View Capital’s American Fiber Infrastructure Fund, which technically owns the finished network. Hosted America enjoys early exclusive usage of the network, but the duo say the network will ultimately be open access, allowing numerous partners.

Phase one of the network plan was completed roughly a year ago, bringing affordable fiber for the first time ever to around 2,000 locals. The full cost of phase one was expected to be around $4.5 million, said Faulkner, of which around $1 million was funded by the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The remainder of the funding was obtained from View Capital and a coalition of philanthropic organizations.

Trump administration changes to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program are poised to introduce years of potential new delays to the already slow-moving program, potentially undermining the program’s goal of bringing universal broadband access to mostly rural communities.

Worse, the looming changes would eliminate efforts to ensure taxpayer-funded broadband is affordable for low-income Americans, while driving billions in new subsidies to the world’s richest man and Trump mega donor Elon Musk.

Testifying this week before a Senate Appropriations Committee, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will "soon" issue a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that states will have 90 days to respond to.

The revisions will ensure that billionaire Elon Musk – and his capacity-constrained satellite broadband network Starlink – will receive significantly more taxpayer money. Such Low-Earth orbit satellite networks were slated to get some funds, but federal changes may result in them dominating grant funding, overruling the mix of technology states had originally preferred.

Other changes being implemented include elimination of provisions ensuring affordable access for low-income Americans.