SPEED for BEAD Act

Key Points

• Renames the federal broadband program by swapping the word “Equity” for “Expansion,” without changing the basic goal of building internet networks.
• If a state doesn’t use all its broadband grant money by the deadline, the unused money would be moved to the U.S. Treasury’s general fund instead of staying available for broadband.
• Limits what federal or state officials can require in broadband grant bidding, like rules tied to union labor, local hiring, climate change, certain network practices, or diversity and inclusion.
• Says states must treat any technology as eligible if it meets the program’s performance standards, rather than steering money toward certain types of networks.
• Bars states and the federal broadband office from using the grant program to regulate or cap what internet companies charge customers. राज्यों can’t set rates even through grant scoring.