Commerce Department’s New BEAD Reform Notice Upends Structure of Program

In this first-of-series post, author Sean A. Stokes (Keller & Heckman) explores the sweeping changes made to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program under the direction of new Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. In March, Secretary Lutnick paused all BEAD funding and declared his intent to overhaul the program, criticizing the Biden Administration’s guidelines and promising a more “tech-neutral” approach. Three months later, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has issued a Restructuring Notice, removing several prior grant compliance requirements and shifting focus toward the lowest-cost technological solutions, with LEO satellite services expected to be strong contenders.

Under the Restructuring Notice, states and territories must rescind any prior preliminary awards—including those already approved under the Biden Administration—and conduct a new selection process using a “Benefit of the Bargain” scoring system. This new process prioritizes sub-recipients offering the lowest-cost bids rather than evaluating long-term infrastructure value. The revised rules give states and territories 90 days to complete their new rounds and submit Final Proposals for NTIA approval, which the agency commits to reviewing within 90 days. Secretary Lutnick has stated that the ultimate goal is to restart BEAD funding before the year’s end.

The Notice eliminates the previous preference for fiber-based infrastructure and redefines “Priority Broadband Projects” to include any technology—such as LEO satellites or unlicensed fixed wireless broadband—that can meet minimum speed, latency, and scalability standards. The updated scoring criteria heavily favor total cost efficiency over individual project performance, instructing states to assess applications by the program-wide funding required and cost per location served. If multiple proposals are within 15% of each other in cost, states must then weigh secondary factors such as deployment speed, network performance, and whether the applicant had been selected in a prior round…

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