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The Satellite Solution That Won’t Scale - Episode 666 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

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In this episode of the podcast, Chris is joined by longtime guest Sascha Meinrath of Penn State University to unravel what's really happening with the BEAD program—and why federal officials are quietly rewriting the rules behind closed doors. 

Sascha explains how BEAD funding is being diverted away from states and into satellite providers like SpaceX, despite overwhelming data that current Starlink capacity already fails to deliver broadband speeds for most users. 

They also unpack misleading speed test metrics, the dangers of ignoring physics in satellite planning, and the looming risk of space congestion. 

With policy negligence threatening rural investment, economic development, and even national infrastructure, Sascha issues a stark reminder: when science is sidelined, communities pay the price.

This show is 49 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license

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Trump Commerce Department: 18 BEAD Proposals Approved by NTIA

Broadband Breakfast stacked logo from Drew
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*The following story by Broadband Breakfast Reporter Jake Neenan was originally published here.

The Commerce Department has approved 18 final spending plans under its $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. One state, Louisiana, had access to its funding, according to the agency.

Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration said Tuesday morning that plans had been approved from 15 states:

Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wyoming – and three territories – American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.

NTIA logo

NTIA approval is one of the last steps before states and territories can start signing contracts and projects can get underway. Louisiana had gone through the remaining reviews and had access to its BEAD deployment funding Tuesday, NTIA said.

The agency said it would post more information on the approved final proposals on their BEAD website. The documents themselves weren’t online Tuesday morning.

It’s not clear to what extent the approved plans differ from the preliminary grant awards states posted in recent months. A major goal of the NTIA when it updated the program’s rules in June was to push deployment spending down, and as part of the approval process states in some cases had to revise tentative awards the agency considered too expensive.

NTIA said the approved states and territories came in $6 billion under budget relative to their BEAD allocations.

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Speed Tests and Why BEAD Keeps Getting Messier - Episode 665 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

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In this episode of the podcast, Chris catches up with Doug Dawson of CCG Consulting to unpack the latest broadband news—from Ookla’s new “Speedtest Pulse” product to NTIA’s controversial rule changes around the BEAD program.

The two discuss how ISPs manipulate speed test results, why continuous monitoring is key to measuring real Internet performance, and the legal and political fallout of the federal government’s recent broadband decisions.

They also dive into USDA ReConnect reauthorization, state-federal tensions over broadband laws, and the growing chaos around AI regulation.

This show is 28 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license

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Follow the Money: Comcast, Starlink, and the BEAD Backslide - Episode 664 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

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In this episode of the podcast, Chris is joined by Karl Bode and Sean Gonsalves to unpack three major broadband stories shaping the moment: 

California’s new law giving tenants the right to opt out of monopolistic bulk billing deals, Comcast’s latest play to cozy up to Washington power, and how the federal “benefit of the bargain” shift is gutting BEAD and funneling billions toward Starlink. 

The trio discusses how these developments expose deeper issues of corruption, enforcement, and the growing divide between corporate priorities and community broadband needs.

This show is 28 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license

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Experts: Withholding BEAD Funds Because of State Affordability Laws On Shaky Legal Ground

A gavel sits on computer desk in foreground. Blurry background shows computer monitors in background with legal paperwork on desk
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Legal analysts are questioning the recent assertion by the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

NTIA administrator Arielle Roth said last week that the agency she oversees will withhold federal broadband deployment funds from states that have laws enforcing net neutrality or that have enacted affordable broadband legislation similar to New York’s Affordable Broadband Act.

As the assistant secretary overseeing the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, Roth’s legal reasoning is striking.

All the more so given that the New York Affordable Broadband Act that requires Internet service providers in the Empire State to offer a low-cost broadband service plan to income-eligible households has been upheld as Constitutional – a case in which the Supreme Court twice declined to intervene and overturn.

Yet, last week in speaking before the conservative Hudson Institute, Roth offered remarks that have legal observers scratching their heads in bewilderment. During her speech, Roth said:

“Consistent with the law, which explicitly prohibits regulating the rates charged for broadband service, NTIA is making clear that states cannot impose rate regulation on the BEAD program. To protect the BEAD investment, we are clarifying that BEAD providers must be protected throughout their service area in a state, while the provider is still within its BEAD period of performance. Specifically, any state receiving BEAD funds must exempt BEAD providers throughout their state footprint from broadband-specific economic regulations, such as price regulation and net neutrality.”

The stakes are high for broadband affordability advocates across the nation. 

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Superior, Wisconsin’s ‘Game Changing’ Open Access Fiber Network Goes Live

Daytime view of Superior downtown with low rise buildings on each side of Tower ave
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Superior, Wisconsin’s community-owned open access fiber network has gone live in its first two deployment neighborhoods, as the city works toward providing affordable next-generation fiber access to the city’s long under-served community of 26,000.

When we last checked in with Superior back in April, the city was working with Nokia for final configuration and testing before launch. Now, the municipal broadband network says its ConnectSuperior fiber network is live in its first two target neighborhoods in the northern part of the city (see the city’s latest deployment map).

The city’s open access network means that multiple broadband providers can compete over the same shared infrastructure. Historically such a model helps boost competition and drive down costs for both consumers and competitors. That’s already the case in Superior, where the city’s website lists two providers – Advanced Stream and Superion Networks – with more on the way.

Superior Wisconsin UW Superior entrance

Advanced Stream is offering locals three tiers of service: a symmetrical 300 megabit per second (Mbps) tier for $63 a month; a symmetrical 650 Mbps tier for $75 a month; and a symmetrical one gigabit per second (Gbps) tier for $83 a month.

Superion is offering three tiers of service as well: a symmetrical 300 Mbps tier for $63 a month; a symmetrical 650 Mbps tier for $75 a month; and a symmetrical 1 Gbps tier for $85 a month. Both companies offer phone bundles for a modest additional surcharge.

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Connexon Completes Grady EMC Fiber Build In Cairo, Georgia

Conexon Connect logo
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Conexon Connect, the ISP arm of fiber broadband builder Conexon, says it has completed its new fiber build in Cairo, Georgia in close collaboration with Grady Electrical Membership Corporation (EMC).

The finished network brings affordable fiber access to 158,000 homes and businesses across the state, including Cairo (population 10,054). 

It’s Conexon Connect’s seventh completed broadband fiber to the home project in Georgia and twelfth completed broadband network overall since the ISP was created in 2021.

In January of 2023 Grady EMC was awarded a $9.3 million grant made possible by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Grady announced its partnership with Conexon in March of 2023.

Grady EMC is technically the statewide trade association that serves Georgia’s 41 electric membership corporations. As we’re seeing across the country, these cooperatives are leveraging their century-old experience with rural electrification to push fiber into many rural areas long neglected by dominant regional telecom monopolies.

Roadside sign surrounded by bushes reads: Welcome to Cairo, Georgia

“This project truly shows what's possible when a community comes together with a shared vision for a brighter, more connected future,” Grady EMC CEO John Long said in a statement.

Grady will be seeking additional funding opportunities to extend affordable fiber access to the cooperative’s 13,000 members across Grady, Decatur and Thomas counties.

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After BEAD: The Future of Broadband and Accountability - Episode 663 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

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In this episode of the podcast, Chris and ILSR’s Jordan Pittman sit down for a candid, post-retreat conversation about what comes after the BEAD program.

They dig into the gaps left behind by federal broadband mapping, why millions of Americans will still be unconnected or unable to afford service, and how short-term policymaking risks leaving rural communities behind.

The pair also unpack the challenges with Starlink’s limitations, the false promise of corporate “efficiency,” and why public investment—and accountability—remain key to real digital equity.

This show is 39 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license

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The Retreat from Fiber, Local Government Inaction, and 8 Million Americans Offline | Episode 123 of the Connect This! Show

Connect This! Show
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Catch the latest episode of the Connect This! Show, with co-hosts Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) and Travis Carter joined by regular guests Kim McKinley (Tak Broadband) and Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting) to talk about all the recent broadband news that's fit to print. Topics include:

Join us live on October 24th at 2pm ET, or listen afterwards wherever you get your podcasts.

Email us at broadband@communitynetworks.org with feedback and ideas for the show.

Subscribe to the show using this feed or find it on the Connect This! page, and watch on LinkedIn, on YouTube Live, on Facebook live, or below.

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How Rural America Gets Left Behind - Episode 660 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast

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In this episode of the podcast, Chris reconnects with Jonathan Chambers from Conexon to unpack the past, present, and future of federal broadband policy. 

They revisit the lessons of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), the wave of defaults that followed, and why definitions of “broadband” have so often favored weaker technologies over fiber.

Jonathan shares insights on the BEAD program, the risks of funneling funds to satellite providers, and how policy choices today will shape whether rural communities thrive or wither tomorrow.

Despite frustrations, he ends with a call for evidence-based decisions and hope that local voices can still steer broadband investment where it’s needed most.

This show is 48 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed.

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license

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