$42B BEAD broadband program has connected zero homes four years after passage

Four years after Congress approved the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program in the 2021 Infrastructure Law, not a single home had been connected as of early 2026. All 56 states and territories had received NTIA approval and signed award agreements, but the program required states to finalize ISP contracts and complete environmental reviews before construction could begin. NTIA was also nearly two months past its own March 2025 deadline for $22 billion in non-deployment guidance.