Last June, the Biden administration announced how it will allocate the $42.5 billion in federal funding for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to U.S. states and territories. Now it’s on the states to decide how these funds will be used to close the digital divide. And while the money will go a long way in addressing the previously understood biggest barrier — cost and the nonexistent or too-slow ROI — internet service providers (ISPs) are now asking another important question: Now that they can afford to extend their networks, who, as in literally who, is going to build them?
