Earlier this month, North Carolina submitted its final proposal to spend $408.5 million in federal funds to extend broadband access to underserved and unserved areas. The plan calls for connecting more than 93,000 homes, businesses, and community centers to high-speed internet by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The state is also overseeing ongoing American Rescue Plan Act-funded programs meant to bring broadband to another 255,570 properties by 2026, for an investment of $674 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the most investment in broadband that we\u2019ve seen in the country, ever,\u201d said Angie Bailey, director of the state\u2019s Broadband Infrastructure Office.<\/p>\n
Congress created the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program in 2021, but it\u2019s taken years to get the funds moving. Now the Trump administration\u2019s recent funding shakeups might disrupt if and how those funds are distributed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The program has become a \u201cpi\u00f1ata\u201d for critics on both sides of the aisle to illustrate government inefficiency, said Drew Garner, director of policy engagement for the nonprofit Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new administration fundamentally changed the BEAD program right before states reached the finish line,\u201d Garner said. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees how states spend their BEAD funds, slashed what it called \u201cburdensome\u201d rules in June and ordered states to rework their plans within 90 days to prioritize cost-cutting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge for broadband providers to design projects in that timeframe,\u201d said Bailey. \u201cOur role as the state is to invest the money in the best way possible based on the program rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monthly internet bills tend to be higher<\/a> in rural parts of the state, where there\u2019s little competition and fewer customers to share infrastructure expenses. It\u2019s often cost-prohibitive for the private market to extend service in these areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n The previous iteration of BEAD included requirements for awardees to consider disadvantaged populations and ensure low-cost service options were made available. That\u2019s one of the rules the Trump administration has changed. \u201cThe main cause of the digital divide is affordability,\u201d Garner said. \u201cBEAD no longer really addresses that.\u201d<\/p>\n Garner said without those rules, BEAD won\u2019t fulfill its original purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another key change to the program is requiring a \u201ctechnology neutral\u201d approach, giving low-Earth orbit satellite internet providers like Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink a major boost. Garner said the Trump administration\u2019s reprioritization means fewer fiber or cable providers are bidding against the comparatively cheaper satellite technology in hard-to-reach areas.<\/p>\n While these satellite systems are new and evolving, they are generally weaker than traditional fiber networks. The feds rejected Starlink\u2019s application in 2023 because it couldn\u2019t prove it could meet minimum service requirements. And because the systems rely on radio waves, it \u201cjust doesn\u2019t work\u201d in some areas, Garner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re saving money by giving people, arguably, an inferior product,\u201d Garner said.\u00a0<\/p>\n