The Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) this week announced a temporary pause on billions of dollars in disbursements of federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding.
The pause, which went into effect Monday and will remain in place until further notice, came after claims were made about favoritism to certain companies that offer broadband via low-earth orbit satellites. Some state lawmakers called for an audit last month as a result of the allegations.
BEAD subgrantees were told in an email that no actions are required from them at this time. Updates will be provided to subgrantees as they become available.
A date for when the audit will be completed has not been released, but legislators have indicated they plan to take some sort of action when the Legislature reconvenes in early 2027.
The BDO was established in 2021 to help extend broadband service to underserved parts of the state.
Photo by Zelch Csaba from Pexels
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