Trump's BEAD Changes Slowed Deployment in Colorado by 18 Months: Broadband Office
Brandy Reitter, executive director of the Colorado Broadband Office, warned Wednesday that the Trump administration's changes to the BEAD program have delayed deployment in the state by about 18 months. “We would have been able to put shovels in the ground last year,” Reitter said during a Fiber Broadband Association webcast with Gary Bolton, the group's CEO. For people waiting for broadband, “it’s going to be a little while,” especially for satellite service, she said.
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The Trump administration has said the changes it made to BEAD fixed the program and got rid of the last administration's unnecessary mandates (see 2512290033).
Building infrastructure is difficult in Colorado, especially west of the Rockies, Reitter said. Providers must deal with “a lot of rock, a lot of trees,” rivers, railroads “and everything in between,” she said. “You kind of have to look at it location by location and really determine what type of technology mix is going to work.”
Colorado had completed work on its preparation for the BEAD program, running two grant cycles, before NTIA made revisions in June (see 2506060052), Reitter noted. “We were just waiting on the NTIA to come up with their guidance on how states could move forward.” She said her office was hoping the agency wouldn’t require “a complete redo,” but it did, and the state had to completely rework the program in just 90 days. That was “challenging,” she said. “We saw a pretty big, significant shift.”
Originally, Colorado had opted to use fiber for about 70% of its locations and fixed-wireless access for most of the rest, Reitter said. Under the revised rules, that shifted to about half fiber and the rest satellite broadband. Fixed wireless lost out as satellite operators provided lower bids for the same locations, she said.
Amazon Leo was the top satellite provider selected in Colorado, with coverage to about 47,000 locations, or about 95% of those getting satellite, Reitter said. Starlink was less aggressive in its bidding and was picked for about 5% of locations. Amazon Leo committed to activating service by the end of 2027, but under program rules it will have up to 14 years to meet all its deployment milestones, Reitter noted. Traditional providers have four years under the revised BEAD rules.
Bolton said he was surprised at the length of time satellite operators had to meet all their milestones. “Basically, if they’re not able to deliver … you won’t know for 14 years.” The long timeline will keep other providers from getting federal support for many years if satellite can’t deliver, he said.
However, providers must hit various targets to get paid, and the state will know before the 14 years are up whether Amazon Leo will be able to meet its milestones, Reitter replied. “It’s a little bit of an iterative process.” Some ISPs likely will use private funds to offer service to some satellite locations if it isn’t available for a decade or longer, she added.
Bolton said NTIA has now approved final BEAD proposals from 42 of the 56 states and territories, and his association and others are working with the agency on permitting reform and project completion success milestones.