The FCC's newly adopted 2026 Section 706 report confirms it: the broadband marketplace is working. Speeds are climbing, prices are falling, and competition is expanding into corners of the country once written off as unreachable.
Ninety-seven percent of Americans have fixed broadband access; mobile 5G reaches almost 95% of homes; more than three-quarters of American households can choose among three or more fixed providers. Cable operators have driven much of this with fiber and gigabit builds, competitive mobile offerings, and lower wireless prices for everyone. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show wireless prices have fallen nearly 30% since 2010.
Ninety percent of cable mobile data traffic now runs over Wi-Fi, made possible by the FCC's decision to open the full 1,200 megahertz in the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use — a move that has driven more than $870 billion in economic value in 2023 and 2024 alone
During the Biden administration, Congress created and funded the BEAD program, a $42 billion effort to connect the roughly three percent of Americans the market hadn’t yet reached. But closing that gap takes more than money and willing providers; it takes lots and lots of permits from governments at every level.
A new report from the Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute (ACLP), following its earlier study on utility poles, lays out the problem. Across 6,933 terrestrial BEAD projects, ACLP identified 86,402 distinct permits needed before construction can begin — more than half of projects need more than 10 permits, one in seven requires more than 20.
Every project involves county-level permitting. Beyond that, 95% require federal environmental review, 76% state permits, 71% private or third-party agreements, and 62% municipal sign-off. The typical build faces eight permitting authorities, each capable of stalling it. Projects overlap 2,449 counties and 12,146 municipalities, a nationwide patchwork. Wetlands and floodplains touch the most projects; nearly 5,000 cross roads and highways, and 3,000-plus hit railroad crossings, plus transmission lines and pipeline corridors.
These slowdowns are fixable, starting with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). With roughly $21 billion in remaining BEAD non-deployment funding, NTIA can allow states to redirect some toward permitting: municipalities hiring reviewers or outsourcing processing, states investing in digital tracking tools, for this round and beyond. That authority already exists, so let’s use it.
Congress has a role, too. The agencies providers most often encounter — USDA, Interior, Defense, the Forest Service, the Army Corps, and DOT — need clearer authority and coordination tools. Congress should also end forcing providers to absorb relocation costs whenever a federally funded project requires moving existing facilities.
Permitting is now the single biggest threat to BEAD delivering on its promise on any reasonable timeline.
NTIA has tools it can use today; Congress has a clear set of fixes it can enact. What's needed now is the will to move quickly, so families and small businesses BEAD was built for aren't left waiting years longer than necessary.