The Biden administration’s flagship broadband initiative, the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, is facing mounting criticism. Launched with the promise of bridging America’s digital divide, BEAD has yet to connect a single household or business three years in. Many point to the program’s design and the bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as the primary causes of delay. Others are sympathetic to the NTIA.

It’s true that NTIA is overseeing an enormously complex project. Congress tasked it with designing and overseeing broadband expansion efforts in all US states and territories, each of which must submit implementation plans. NTIA and the states hired hundreds of new staff, most of whom had little experience with broadband programs. While NTIA asserts that BEAD is a 10-year initiative and therefore still on track, the reality is that current delays are unnecessary and the agency can take simple, actionable steps to accelerate progress.

Read my complete take at AEI.