Arielle Roth will lead the revamped ‘bargain BEAD’ program at NTIA for extending broadband
In sum – what to know:
NTIA administrator confirmed – Arielle Roth, who has worked on telecom policy at the FCC and in Congress, was confirmed to lead NTIA, the executive agency focused on telecom and technology.
New BEAD leader – Roth, a critic of some of the BEAD program’s requirements under the Biden administration, will now head up the implementation of the program under revamped rules.
President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has officially been confirmed.
Arielle Roth was confirmed to the role of administrator of NTIA by a Senate vote of 52-41. Roth has extensive experience in telecom policy work in Congress, most recently as the telecom policy director for Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas). She also served at the Federal Communications Commission in several positions, including as wireline advisor to then-Commissioner Michael O’Rielly.
Cruz, who is chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has praised Roth’s “indefatigable work ethic, and unrivaled passion for telecommunications policy and law.”
“She has led our efforts to promote affordable connectivity, protect the taxpayer against wasteful spending, and promote economic innovation in telecom. And, as a mother, she’s been a tireless advocate for protecting children from excessive screen time and online harms,” he said during Roth’s confirmation process.
Roth herself also highlighted her decade of work in telecom policy during a confirmation hearing in March. With a nod to the bipartisan nature of the support for BEAD, Roth said that “NTIA has a responsibility to ensure that these funds are spent efficiently, expeditiously, and consistent with the law as written by Congress.” She also said that she was “committed to harnessing the potential of our nation’s spectrum resources while safeguarding national security,” and that she would look for ways to support efforts to “protect children from online threats and excessive screen use.”
Upon her confirmation, a slew of telecom industry groups welcomed Roth to the position. CTIA President and CEO Ajit Pai said that Roth’s “sharp legal mind, deep policy expertise, and pragmatic approach to complex issues will serve NTIA and the American people exceptionally well.”
“During her time on Capitol Hill and at the FCC, Roth played a leading role in addressing spectrum demand, targeted universal service support and promoting a pro-innovation, taxpayer-first view of the U.S. broadband landscape,” said Matt Mandel, VP of government affairs for WISPA. “Combining this with her commitment to act impartially in carrying out the BEAD program, consistent with the IIJA as enacted, WISPA remains confident that Administrator Roth will help get all unserved Americans quickly online with reliable, evolutionary, and affordable broadband.”
New round of ‘bargain’ BEAD bidding approved
All eyes will be on Roth as she moves forward with the implementation of the BEAD program under the Trump administration. Roth has criticized the program’s previous requirements as putting a “woke social agenda” on broadband deployments and driving costs up and participation down.
Earlier this week, NTIA said that all states and territories have received approval to start conducting their additional round of selections as part of the “bargain BEAD” program. The additional round is expected to benefit satellite operators such as Starlink.
In June, NTIA released revamped rules for the the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program under the Trump administration. While BEAD had originally been passed by Congress with a heavy preference for fiber deployments, NTIA instituted a “technology neutral approach” and demanded that states hold another round of bidding where all technology types can be considered—some of which will inevitably be cheaper than fiber. NTIA is calling this a “Benefit of the Bargain” round of bidding.
Among the other changes outlined in the new BEAD notice, the new rules:
-Remove wholesale access requirements.
-Allow data caps to be instituted on services provided via BEAD-funded networks.
-Eliminate development of “middle class affordability” plans for middle-income customers, calling those requirements “confusing, arbitrary [and] impossible to operationalize.”
-Remove some of the low-cost service plan requirements.
Eligible states and territories have until September 4, 2025, to submit a final BEAD proposal to NTIA that includes the results of at least one additional bidding round.
