Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Arielle Roth said during a speech on Tuesday at the Free State Foundation that the Trump administration has overhauled the failed Biden-era BEAD program, which is projected to save $21 billion and will expand internet access for Americans everywhere, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
Roth — administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the agency tasked with advising the president on telecommunications and information policy issues — addressed the Free State Foundation at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, where she explained how the Trump administration has worked to close the “digital divide,” or the or the gap between those who have reliable access to the internet and those who do not.
President Joe Biden and congressional democrats established the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Despite the program’s generous funding, the program became infamous for failing to expand internet access during Biden’s term in office.
“For almost four years, BEAD was weighed down by bureaucratic red tape, market-distorting restrictions, and heavy-handed, extralegal social mandates. A major bipartisan initiative was at risk of becoming yet another broadband program that failed to deliver,” Roth said in her address to the Free State Foundation, which was obtained by Breitbart News.
As Breitbart News has reported, the BEAD program, under Biden, became stymied by:
-
Onerous labor requirements
-
Encouraging government-owned networks over private investment
-
Barring non-fiber optic projects over wireless internet and satellite internet deployment
-
Mandates for affordability and rate regulation; the confusion over how to comply with this rule led to a significant delay in Virginia’s BEAD broadband deployment
-
Eligible projects must account for “climate-related” risks, which was not in the bill text
Now, Roth said in her speech, the Trump administration “transformed BEAD from a boondoggle built on unlawful rules into a genuine success for the American people.”
“We’re projecting about $21 billion in savings, thanks to our efforts to cut red tape, expand participation, and redirect the program to its core mission of universal, cost-effective connectivity,” Roth told Breitbart News in a written statement.
“New leadership makes a difference,” she remarked in her speech.
In June, Roth instituted the “Benefit of the Bargain” plan that instituted major reforms to the BEAD, removing these onerous requirements to lower costs, ramp up deployments, and ensure that many technology solutions were considered for BEAD grants, not just fiber.
The NTIA administrator noted that under the Benefit of the Bargain-approved plan, Louisiana connected over 127,000 locations throughout the state at just under $500 million, which is $220 million lower compared to the conditionally approved Biden plan, and over $850 million below its original allocation. Roth said that the Biden administration’s fiber-only mandate dramatically increased the cost to the American taxpayer.
She continued, noting that West Virginia saw similar success, with a ten percent increase in private match in funding and a 43 percent drop in cost compared to the pre-Benefit of the Bargain plan. Roth said that, in Georgia, providers are matching more than 170 percent of the federal funding for the state, which is an “astonishing figure,” rivaled only by the state government’s contribution, with the state receiving $1 billion less than its original allocation.
Roth remarked, “These successes are thanks to a surge in participation. Providers who sat out under hostile, burdensome rules came back to the table, strengthening competition and improving value for taxpayers.”
“States, freed from one-size-fits-all mandates, could evaluate projects on a granular basis and select those that truly fit their needs,” Roth continued. “Indeed, our results show huge diversity in state technology mixes—both within and across states—reflecting the realities of our country’s geographic, topographic, and population density differences, as well as our guiding principle of market-driven technological innovation.”
Other states saw similar savings from the Trump Benefit of the Bargain plan, including:
-
Virginia received double the applications under the Trump plan than under the Biden regime, thanks to streamlined requirements
-
Under the Biden administration rules, Texas was the last state to submit its initial proposal, and its final proposal would not have been due until November 21 of this year; under the Trump plan, the state beat its deadline by a month, shaving six months off Texas’s wait time for broadband funding
Roth argued that America’s predominant status as an innovator comes from allowing market forces to decide who wins, not forcing one solution across a country with so many different needs.
The U.S. has led the world in broadband innovation thanks in large part to our guiding principles of facilities-based competition and technology neutrality. We know based on experience that if we allow the market to innovate, then we’ll achieve better connectivity for the American people,” she said in a statement to Breitbart News.
She continued in her speech, “NTIA has been working around the clock to approve as many states as possible by year’s end.”
“Last month, we announced 18 approvals, with Texas and West Virginia following soon thereafter. Today, we are adding 9 more to the list: South Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. I am thrilled by this momentum and eager to complete the remaining reviews,” Roth announced.
“We saw the consequences of distorted investment with the prior administration’s fiber mandate. Preferencing a single technology doesn’t just waste money; it can stifle innovation and undermine America’s leadership in critical emerging sectors. And in a world where technological dominance and national security go hand in hand, domestic policies shouldn’t be viewed in a vacuum. Policies that handicap American companies don’t just limit connectivity but have real international consequences, especially as other countries seek to follow our lead,” Roth emphasized.
“Our approach to the BEAD savings will complement the program and reflect the same principles that made the reforms successful. We haven’t made any decisions yet but stay tuned. We’ll have much more to share in early 2026,” she concluded in her speech to the Free State Foundation.
