The plan for nationwide fiber internet might be upended for Starlink

is a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. For about 15 percent of US households as of 2023, the only internet options are crappy, especially in rural areas. But thanks to the US Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which aims to connect everyone in the US to high-quality, mostly fiber-based internet, that’s close to changing. Or at least, it was. The plan’s lead architect, Evan Feinman, says that before he was forced out by the Trump administration in March, three US states were just one “minor administrative step” away from connecting their first residents under BEAD. In fact, he says, they could have started the process already — if not for US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a recent Trump appointee. In March, Lutnick announced a “rigorous review” of BEAD, which he claims is too “woke” and filled with “burdensome regulations.” Now the plan may change. Lutnick’s c ... Read full article.