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The CEO of a Louisiana broadband building agency has known as out Donald Trump’s Sec. of Commerce in an open plea for an finish to BEAD delays
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Frustration solely continues to develop in rural Louisiana on account of BEAD delays, as evidenced by the most recent plea for motion from Caleb Etheridge, the founder and CEO of EPC.
Etheridge’s firm, a broadband building agency in rural North Louisiana, has suffered considerably as a consequence of delays to the federal government’s $42.45 billion broadband buildout, based on the agency’s CEO.
In his letter, the second such plea from EPC in lower than a month, Etheridge calls on Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to cease stalling this system, which was created by Congress as a part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation of 2021.
‘You’re not conserving your phrase’
Etheridge says the broken confronted by Lutnick’s delay “is not going to be reversible.”
Click on right here to learn Etheridge’s full letter to Lutnick
“I’m writing to you now as a result of what’s taking place in Washington is actively threatening all the pieces we’ve constructed,” he writes. “To say it very plainly and take away any inferences, you’re not conserving your phrase.”
Etheridge’s letter additional acknowledged that he’s not writing to complain. As a substitute, he says he’s writing to warn.
“It’s too late to play political video games,” his letter reads. “And if this continues, I’ll shine a good brighter mild on the hurt you may have induced, together with my federal delegation who nodded in settlement in personal rooms however stood silently when it was time to be brave.”
Etheridge additionally writes that it’s ironic that Lutnick’s delay is being executed within the title of presidency effectivity.
“That is infrastructure you’ll be able to see, measure, and audit in actual time, and we did it 40% beneath funds,” he wrote.
The letter additionally takes intention on the notion that low-Earth orbit satellite tv for pc is a extra appropriate substitute for fiber.
“Go inform that to my barber, whose state-of-the-art satellite tv for pc connection drops and buffers all by means of the day,” the letter reads. “And, he was the fortunate one which had ‘a transparent view of the sky’ from his rooftop.”
BEAD delay forces EPC into layoffs
The newest letter follows up an analogous attraction to Lutnick in April.
That letter, penned by EPC co-owner Josh Etheridge, mentioned EPC had already been pressured into layoffs because of the delay.
As beforehand reported, Louisiana has been extremely impacted by an ongoing assessment to the Broadband Fairness, Entry, and Deployment (BEAD) Program known as by Lutnick.
The assessment, introduced with an announcement from Lutnick in March, mentioned the Dept. of Commerce was searching for “methods to chop authorities pink tape that slows down infrastructure building.”
“In 2021, Congress created the BEAD Program to broaden Individuals’ entry to high-speed web,” Lutnick beforehand wrote. “However, years later, due to the prior administration’s woke mandates, favoritism in direction of sure applied sciences, and burdensome rules, this system has not related a single particular person to the web and is in dire want of a readjustment.”
Lutnick, on the time, additionally mentioned his assessment intends to lead to “ripping out the Biden Administration’s pointless necessities.”
Louisiana bears brunt of BEAD delay
In 2024, Louisiana notably turned the primary to award BEAD funds by means of a state program known as GUMBO 2.0 (Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Alternatives).
It was additionally the primary state to achieve approval for his or her preliminary BEAD proposal.
As of April, EPC had reported that they’ve needed to launch 80% of their subcontractors because of the delay. Moreover, the corporate reported having to make a pause in philanthropic giving and even mentioned full-time workers had begun to face layoffs.
In the meantime, Etheridge is simply the most recent firm chief from Louisiana to sound the alarm. Beforehand, the CEO of Louisiana-based SkyRider Communications and David Herring, the founder and CEO of ClearPath Fiber, have additionally penned related letters, all calling on Lutnick to finish the delay directly.
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