The deployment of broadband to connect businesses and families to the internet requires every level of government to avoid imposing burdensome rules and regulations that impede that process. Ensuring that projects move forward expeditiously is critical as the $42.45 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding will be released to the states from the […]
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) deadline for final proposals for the $42.45 billion in Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) is September 3, 2025. Funding is supposed to be distributed by December 31, 2025. Like other broadband programs, BEAD projects must go through a state and local permitting process, which should expedite rather […]
States across the country are working to finalize their final Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration by the September 4, 2025, deadline. The state of Louisiana is leading the charge to close the digital divide as the first state in the nation to release its final draft […]
Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted into law, household broadband users in the United States have increased from 50 percent to 96 percent. The Act established the Universal Service Fund (USF), which includes the Lifeline, High-Cost, Rural Healthcare, and E-Rate programs, to help increase access to broadband. The Act also gave the Universal […]
After Arielle Roth was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), closing the digital divide may be closer than ever. Her confirmation comes at a critical time for the agency, as it begins to send out funding to states […]
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) applauds a major victory for taxpayers, consumers, and rapid broadband deployment to close the digital divide as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) rescinds broadband price controls and other non-statutory guidance following a strong push for these changes by CAGW. On June 6, 2025, the National Telecommunications and Information […]
Since the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued its first Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) guidance for the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program that was created in the 2021 Instructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has raised concerns about the non-statutory prescriptive requirements that have […]
Citizens Against Government Waste’s (CAGW) comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding included the repeal of a regulation that expanded the use of the E-Rate program under the Universal Service Fund (USF) to allows tax dollars to be used for the installation of Wi-Fi hotspots in school buses. The […]
Citizens Against Government Waste has long been concerned about wasteful spending on government-owned networks (GONs) that provide services that duplicate private sector providers in the same communities. This concern has heightened since the enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021, which allocated $42.5 billion for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment […]
Reducing regulations, especially after the massive expansion in the size and scope of the federal government during the Biden administration, will increase investment and stimulate the economy. That is one of the reasons President Trump signed an executive order (EO) on January 31, 2025, to cut 10 regulations for every new regulation, and another EO […]
