What is all this recent noise about the BEAD program? 

At last week’s General membership meeting, CWA Local 1103 President, Kevin Sheil, spoke about the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program.  BEAD was created as part of the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in 2021 by President Biden.  In it, $65 billion for state broadband programs was allotted, with 42 billion of that to be used to fund last-mile broadband development.  That last mile part is covered under the BEAD program.  NYS was eligible to receive 1.6 billion dollars.  The BEAD Program placed the States at the center of the entire program. While the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) set the rules and administered the issuance of federal funds to the States.  Each state identified its statewide needs, and then ultimately decided where and to whom the funds are directed in compliance with the rules.

For the past few years, CWA D1, the 1103 Executive Board, and our Broadband Brigade have been preparing for a huge opportunity to make sure New Yorkers have access to affordable broadband and to create good union jobs statewide, our jobs, through the BEAD program. 

We have had a lot of success – we passed legislation to ensure this work is subject to strong labor standards, pays prevailing wage, and preferences fiber technology; we won labor-friendly language in the BEAD scoring process (which determines which companies win the bids); and we secured 21 letters of support for high-road employers from 21 county governments across New York.

But now, as you may have heard, the BEAD program to deploy fiber broadband is facing major threats from the current Trump administration.  As you know, the administration is attempting to freeze federal spending on programs that it’s ideologically opposed to.  This has put the BEAD program in its crosshairs and in limbo. Under current rules, the program gives preference to fiber.  States, including NY, can fund non-fiber projects if fiber would be too costly, or no providers are interested in deploying it in a given area.

Top Republican officials have been critical of the program and instead are working to funnel money meant for fiber buildout to unreliable satellite internet service, like Elon Musk’s Starlink or Jeff Bezos’ Project Kuiper.  In fact, Howard Lutinick, the new Secretary of Commerce, a Wall Street guy worth 3 billion dollars, is pushing to reclassify low earth orbit satellite and unlicensed fixed wireless as a “Reliable Broadband Service”.  The term “Reliable Broadband Service” in this context has legal meaning; it’s not just a term used in a commercial.  Without getting into the weeds, the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act defines “reliable broadband service” as “broadband service that meets performance criteria.” Presently, low earth orbit satellites and unlicensed fixed wireless do not meet the performance criteria.  Now, three states, Louisiana, Delaware and Nevada, have already received approval of their spending plans for BEAD.  But the National Institute of Standards and Technology must also sign off on BEAD plans, but it has not done so. And because they have not signed off, three states with shovel-ready projects cannot move forward.  

Not only that, but you have probably read the press reports that Elon Musk’s Starlink is rumored to be taking over Verizon’s $2 billion FAA contract. That’s been denied, but Transportation Secretary Duffy has publicly stated that he can’t wait five or ten years for fiber to be run.  Many broadband companies that build out fiber have refuted that timeline as an exaggeration.    

Against that backdrop and given the threats from the Trump administration and the federal government, we must stand up for our communities, our work, and our jobs.  We all need to work hard to ensure all our efforts were not in vain.  An easy but important first step is to sign the petition. The QR code below will take you to it. CWA will distribute this petition to the NTIA with a request to maintain fiber preference and labor standards in the BEAD program.  There will be more mobilization actions to come, and you will be expected to participate and do more.  This is our livelihood that is under attack.  But we are confident that the members of this local will do what is needed to preserve good union jobs, our jobs.  We cannot let the world’s richest man become richer off our backs. 

We must fight back.

In solidarity,

CWA’s Local 1103 Executive Board