Co-ops Urge Course Correction in New BEAD Funding Round

ARLINGTON, Va. - NRECA CEO Jim Matheson today issued the following statement after the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) announced a new round of Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funding to be made available for states to address locations that may remain unserved.

"BEAD's initial investment is failing rural America. Delayed implementation, shifting guidance, cost constraints and unrealistic funding assumptions have slowed progress, discouraged participation and weakened a historic opportunity to bring long-overdue broadband service to rural communities. Directing further investment under the same misguided approach will not deliver universal connectivity to rural America.

"NTIA must allow flexibility for cost increases created by program delays, align funding levels with the actual cost of deploying broadband infrastructure in America's hardest-to-reach communities and remove fatally flawed pole attachment rules that clearly break from long-standing federal policy. Without correcting course, BEAD risks leaving rural America behind."

More than 200 rural electric cooperatives across the U.S. are working to bridge the digital divide. NTIA and State Broadband Offices are important partners in amplifying these efforts and expanding access to affordable broadband in rural areas.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives, including over 200 co-ops involved in bringing reliable broadband service to their communities. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric cooperatives in broadband play a crucial role in closing the digital divide by connecting rural America to affordable high-speed internet service. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric co-ops in broadband have meaningful ties to rural America and empower their communities with new ways to live, learn and earn.

-###-