On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – that is, the legislation that created the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD Program – was signed into law. On May 14, 2026, 1,641 days later, BEAD Program funding at long last enabled the connection of its very location.
Of course, millions more locations are expected to come online in the coming weeks, months, and years.
In remarks offered on location in Ogallala, Nebraska, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth highlighted the expediting impact of the "Benefit of the Bargain" revisions adopted last year. She also discussed changes designed to reinstate Congress' technologically neutral intent. In that regard, she noted that "[i]t's not an accident that this connection here in Ogallala is from an unlicensed fixed wireless provider."
Finally, a reminder: Ms. Roth will be a keynote speaker at the Free State Foundation's Twentieth Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, June 4, from 11:45am to 3pm, at the National Press Club. If you haven't already, register here to catch her fireside chat with FSF President Randolph May as well as an impressive lineup of other speakers.
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