“[BEAD] has derailed broadband deployment in Minnesota and other states,” said Brent Christensen, president of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance. “We already had a program that was working. We’re kind of stalled right now. We’re hoping we get back up and going. We don’t have a lot left, but we’ve got Minnesotans that don’t have it that need it.”
In May, Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined 11 other Democratic senators calling on President Donald Trump to release the BEAD funds. The letter said that states were ready to build networks and “rural and tribal communities cannot afford more delays.”
On June 6, the Trump administration restructured the BEAD program, changing and replacing some guidelines. Many broadband companies had already turned in their grant applications and were instructed to redo them. Consolidated Communications had to redo its applications in 90 days to meet the new administration’s guidelines.
“They basically took a program that we have been working on for years and said you need to redo it,” said Consolidated Communications’ Davis.