Welcome to Preseem’s comprehensive monthly roundup of the latest developments in the fixed wireless and fiber broadband industry.
August was particularly eventful, with significant BEAD program updates, major industry reports, and evolving regulatory landscapes that are shaping the future of rural and regional connectivity.
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BEAD News
As might be expected, the $42.45B Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program continued to dominate access network news in August.
BEAD is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and they hit the headlines by releasing a guide for navigating BEAD program requirements, highlighting critical components to be addressed by funding winners. In good news for smaller, rural ISPs, the NTIA also relaxed their Letter of Credit rules for recipients of federal funding.
Recent estimates have shown that BEAD-eligible locations have decreased by 65% since 2022, prompting two broadband groups to urge the NTIA to let states define what constitutes a “community anchor institution,” and leading to mixed fortunes for fiber in initial bidding results. As an example of the latter, while Virginia and Louisiana plan to award over 80% of their BEAD funds to fiber, Colorado announced that only 40% of locations will be served by fiber, down from an initially projected 70% share.
The other 60% of Colorado locations will be served by Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite providers like Starlink, who are bidding big for BEAD projects across the US. However, experts are wondering if LEO can serve rural locations reliably. With fiber and LEO dominating early BEAD results, Light Reading asked the increasingly relevant question, “What’s going on with Fixed Wireless and BEAD?”
Industry Reports
A couple of notable industry-wide reports were issued in August. In the first, BroadbandNow released its annual assessment of the Best and Worst States for Broadband in 2025. In analyzing broadband performance across the US, the report found that “while infrastructure deployment has improved nationwide, a devastating affordability gap threatens to leave millions of rural Americans disconnected despite available service.”
A few other key findings in the report include:
- The affordability gap exceeds 30% in multiple rural states, meaning service exists but remains unaffordable
- Fiber doesn’t always mean better outcomes, as states with lower fiber coverage often outperform fiber-rich states
- Download speeds now average over 107 Mbps nationally, but 26 million Americans still lack basic broadband access
OpenVault released its Broadband Insights second quarter report in August, with key positive results including a 17.9% increase in upstream usage, a 13.4% increase in monthly average consumption year-over-year, and more. Download the full report here for all the details.
Download Preseem's 2025 ISP Network Report
Rural Broadband Community News
In news from the rural broadband community, WISPA CEO David Zumwalt wrote an Expert Opinion for Broadband Breakfast called Rural America’s Wireless Revolution that promoted fixed wireless as “a reliable and cost-effective answer” to close the affordability gap and get rural Americans online.
Elsewhere, NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association released a white paper exploring the potential benefits and uses of AI for regional providers, including inventory management, social media and marketing content creation, and administrative assistance. Ookla, meanwhile, reported on the ongoing successes and challenges of fixed and mobile connectivity for 110 Tribal Nations in the US.
Regulatory and Policy Developments
In regulatory news, the FCC adopted a notice of inquiry to consider amending its broadband availability reporting, including a move to “abolish the long-term goal of 1,000/500 Mbps” to promote tech neutrality instead. They also voted on a proposal to “sharply narrow environmental and historic preservation reviews required for new wireless infrastructure projects.”
Tier 1 Provider News
Large Tier-1 providers were also in the news last month, with Charter facing a class-action lawsuit from their own shareholders over broadband losses from the Affordable Connectivity Program. Meanwhile, AT&T’s $23B agreement to acquire 50MHz of nationwide spectrum from EchoStar spelled the end for the latter’s attempt to become the fourth facilities-based carrier in the US.
