Doug Dawson reports on the shortcomings of BEAD when trying to reduce or eliminate the digital divide…

One of the big glaring weaknesses of BEAD was that the enabling legislation and the NTIA rules made it impossible to consider affordability as a criterion of selecting BEAD grant winners. A few states tried to stress affordability during the BEAD process, but were largely shut down by the NTIA. After the Benefit of the Bargain rules, consideration of affordability went out the door, along with all factors other than the construction cost per passing.

In a speech made to the Hudson Institute, NTIA Assistant Secretary Aerielle Roth was quoted as saying, “This administration does not want BEAD to become just another well-intentioned broadband program that falls short. Its mission is nothing less than to close the “digital divide” once and for all.”

Unfortunately, the BEAD infrastructure grants alone were never going to close the digital divide. When we talk about solving the rural digital divide, we’re really talking about several different issues. A primary element of solving the digital divide is broadband availability, which is what infrastructure grants tackle. BEAD focused on making sure that BEAD-eligible locations got at least one broadband option with a speed of at least 100/20 Mbps.

Solving the digital divide means two more things. First, it means making sure that people have computers and devices and know how to use them effectively. Finally, solving the digital divide means having broadband that people can afford.