Senators press administration for answers on broadband funds

Allison Mollenkamp, CQ-Roll Call on Sep 29, 2026

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WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators is pushing the Commerce Department to release long-delayed guidance for states seeking to use remaining funds from a $42 billion broadband grant program.

In a letter first shared with CQ Roll Call, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., with Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Vt.; Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Mark Warner, D-Va., urge the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to tell states what uses will be approved for “non-deployment” funding under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

Earlier this month, NTIA announced it would accept an additional round of proposals under the program to bring broadband internet to “newly identified unserved locations” that may have become eligible since the previous round, including due to changes in Federal Communications Commission maps or defaults in other state or federal broadband programs. It’s unclear how much funding the new round will require.

In their letter, the senators called that round “a worthy goal but one that can advance with a parallel effort providing non-deployment funding supporting the long-term success of broadband investments.”

“Ensuring states can responsibly deploy these resources will help maximize the impact of this historic investment and advance our shared goal of connecting all Americans to high-speed broadband internet,” the group said in their letter.

The Commerce Department and NTIA have repeatedly set and then missed estimated deadlines this year for the guidance, delaying states’ use of up to $21 billion in funds for broadband mapping, adoption, affordability and other potential uses.

Shaheen, who is retiring at the end of this term and who said she helped negotiate the broadband provisions of the massive 2021 infrastructure law that included the BEAD program, said that “adoption activities” would “help small businesses, students and health care providers take advantage of new internet connectivity.”

“With billions of dollars to expand broadband already awarded, the Commerce Department must issue guidance to states on how to spend non-deployment funding so that communities can successfully implement and strengthen high-speed internet access,” she said in a statement.

The guidance is expected to more closely define what uses NTIA would approve under the law, which specifically allows for connecting community “anchor” institutions, data collection and broadband mapping, installing internet infrastructure in multifamily housing and broadband adoption programs. The statute also allows for “any use determined necessary” by NTIA “to facilitate the goals of the program.”

NTIA’s announcement of the new round said that “Other uses of BEAD funding will be addressed in subsequent guidance” but did not articulate a deadline.

In June, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth told a House subcommittee that the guidance would be available “this summer.” In April, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that he expected the department to have a plan for the funds “over the next two months.”

The guidance was at one time expected in March, alongside a policy notice tying access to the funds to state artificial intelligence laws as required by a 2025 executive order. Days before the deadline for the policy notice, NTIA said it would be “taking additional time” to review comments from listening sessions held on potential uses for the non-deployment funds. The policy notice was also not released.

Those listening sessions included speakers focused on broadband adoption, including affordability, device access and digital literacy. NTIA highlighted interest in potentially using the funds for Next Generation 911, streamlining permitting, addressing screen time in classrooms and broadband resilience and redundancy.

In their letter, the senators said that non-deployment funds “are meant to complement efforts to expand broadband access.”

“Activities consistent with the statute such as workforce development programs, telehealth connectivity and technical assistance for rural small businesses enjoy bipartisan support,” they wrote.

Some lawmakers expressed concern that the Commerce Department might return the remaining funds to the Treasury, but under questioning from Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., at a hearing in February, Lutnick committed to spending the funds according to statute.

Earlier this year, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., encouraged NTIA to undertake the second deployment round. She has also asked NTIA to allow states to use non-deployment funds for precision agriculture.

Fischer also led a bipartisan letter to NTIA last December requesting clarification on uses for the funds.

NTIA’s online BEAD dashboard, which was last updated in early September, showed that almost all final BEAD proposals in the first funding round have been approved and award agreements signed. Illinois’ agreement still needs to be signed and California’s is awaiting approval by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, though it has already been approved by NTIA.