The year ahead: Key challenges and opportunities in broadband expansion for 2025

Bowling Green, Ky (December 19, 2024) — While 2024 was an eventful year for broadband, 2025 could bring about big progress and potentially many changes. Without a crystal ball, we can only speculate what some of these may be. Here, though, is what we can expect in the year ahead.

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program

The BEAD program, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), allocated over $42 billion to expand high-speed internet access and adoption.

By the end of 2024, all states had their initial BEAD proposals approved by the NTIA, and many states have moved toward developing their final proposals and the subgrantee selection process. That said, the program has not yet connected a single home nationwide, despite its inception in late 2021.

This delay has led to some concerns on Capitol Hill. The nominee to become Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under President-Elect Donald Trump, Brendan Carr, has called this out explicitly and suggested that since the lion’s share of the money hasn’t been spent, it could be clawed back to reduce what he considers “red tape.” This issue will be one to watch as the year progresses; it’s hard to say what will be proposed and how successful those efforts will be.

Digital Equity (DE) Grants

The Digital Equity Act, another major program funded by the IIJA, allocated $2.75 billion to promote digital inclusion nationwide. In 2024, states finished their digital equity planning and began work on capacity grant program applications to implement their plans — many of which have been approved in the last month.

Furthermore, the NTIA released a notice of funding opportunity for the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program this summer — to which over 700 applications were submitted to receive funding for various projects. Going into 2025 with a new political reality, this program may also experience cuts in response to several criticisms. The fate of these efforts will be another issue to watch next year.

Universal Service Fund (USF)

Earlier in the year, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the funding mechanism behind the FCC’s Universal Service Fund (USF) was unconstitutional. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal, and a decision should come sometime in 2025.

This upcoming decision has major implications for the broadband landscape because the USF funds so many programs, including Lifeline, the Connect America Fund, and the E-rate program. Defunding the E-rate program would jeopardize roughly $4 billion that goes toward funding internet service and devices in schools and libraries annually. Therefore, all eyes will be on the Supreme Court to see whether big changes are on the horizon.

National Broadband Plan

Next year will be the 15th anniversary of the National Broadband Plan. This project undertook an ambitious endeavor to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and bolster America’s capabilities in education, health care, and homeland security through investment in broadband.

In light of this historic milestone, Connected Nation (CN) will produce a series of white papers detailing how far we’ve come and evaluating the extent to which we (as a country) have reached the benchmarks put forth in the plan.

Pricing

In the past year, funding for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) ran out, and U.S. Congress did not implement a replacement program. While the effects of the program ending are not yet certain, the FCC’s ACP Consumer Survey leaves us with some clues.

Over two-thirds of respondents (68%) reported that they had inconsistent or no internet service prior to the program, and of those respondents, 80% cited affordability as the reason why. Moreover, 77% of all respondents suggested that losing their ACP benefit would disrupt their service by making them change or drop their current internet plan.

Taken together, these findings indicate that internet affordability and pricing transparency may be in the spotlight again this year.

Latency

Earlier in 2024, the FCC adjusted its definition of broadband from 25/3 Mbps to 100/20 Mbps — meaning households that do not receive internet at this speed are considered underserved.

According to the FCC’s National Broadband Map, over 93% of American households can access wired or fixed wireless internet at these speeds — a key indicator that we’ve made progress in closing the Digital Divide.

However, relying exclusively on this metric ignores an important component of internet performance: latency. Latency refers to the time it takes for your computer to respond to an action you take. For many reasons, internet users in rural areas experience higher latency than those in urban areas. Therefore, as the BEAD rollout continues this year, a new urban/rural divide may be on the horizon.

Recognizing the challenge ahead, CN has set a goal of building 125-plus carrier-neutral internet exchange points (IXPs) in small and middle-sized cities across the country. These IXPs would keep internet traffic local, reduce latency, improve reliability, and lower costs for everyone.

In conclusion

The issues raised above only scratch the surface of what’s bound to be an exciting year in the broadband world. No matter what challenges are thrown at us, we are determined to close the Digital Divide and improve the lives of millions of Americans.

To stay updated on the latest developments in broadband as the year goes on, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or X.

Everyone belongs in a Connected Nation.

About the author: David Nunnally is a Connected Nation (CN) Research Assistant. He is responsible for using qualitative and quantitative techniques to interpret survey data, in addition to collecting data from secondary sources to help support those findings. David works with internal and external stakeholders to help develop research and provide critical information in support of the CN mission.