In 2021, the Biden administration launched a funding program aimed at getting reliable internet to more homes across the nation. The Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program, known as BEAD, approved over $600 million dollars for Montana.
A few weeks ago, that was put on hold. Misty Ann Giles is the Director of the Montana Department of Administration.
“The new administration did signal they were gonna drastically change this program,” Giles says.
Giles also leads the state’s broadband office, which was told on June 6 it needed to resubmit proposals in line with Trump’s changes to the program.
“This is a three dimensional chess that will have a lot of fun unpacking,” Giles says.
The federal administration’s changes to BEAD heavily prioritizes low cost. Secondary criteria come into play, but only when bids are within 15 percent of the cheapest proposal.
Before these changes, the more costly fiber-optic broadband was favored. The Biden administration emphasized that fiber provided more reliable internet that could easily be scaled up in the future.
Now, all internet providers start on an even playing field, including newer technologies like low-earth orbit satellites such as Starlink. This raised questions for commissioners.
Helena Dem. Representative Luke Muszkiewicz raised concerns over the technology’s long-term implementation.
“Is there a mechanism within this to evaluate risk? This is a pretty new technology. I'm guessing we don't have a good sense of what it will take for this to be profitable over the long term,” Muszkiewicz says.
Commission members noted that most areas will likely be served by a mix of provider types. Members of the public and internet service providers in Montana also raised concerns over the promises that newer technologies make when it comes to reliability and scalability.
Bridger Mahlum of Broadband Montana.
“This is a once in a generation opportunity. And so I know we have a really compressed time frame right now, but do not- miss the opportunity to ensure that everybody, my members, anybody else that applies are going to fulfill in the promises that they make,” Mahlum says.
Governor Greg Gianforte supported Trump’s changes to BEAD in a news release earlier this month. Montana has until September 4th to finalize its proposal.
