Conference Agenda

Over the past decade, broadband policy in the United States has shifted decisively toward state-led implementation, culminating in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program enacted in 2021. While BEAD represents an unprecedented federal investment in broadband deployment, it was intentionally designed as a time-limited intervention, with statutory requirements and administrative guidance subject to political change. As states move from planning to implementation, an unresolved policy question remains: how can states sustain and institutionalize the policy standards embedded in BEAD once federal funding and oversight recede? This paper examines that question by identifying and assessing a set of state-level “cornerstone” broadband policies intended to support durable, long-term access to high-quality, affordable broadband service.

The research asks two primary questions. First, what statutory policy components are most critical for sustaining universal broadband access beyond one-time federal investment programs? Second, to what extent have states already adopted these components in law, positioning themselves to maintain network quality, affordability, and investment over time? Rather than evaluating program outcomes or deployment effectiveness, the paper focuses on the policy frameworks that shape long-term market incentives, public investment durability, and consumer access.

To answer these questions, the paper develops and applies a structured policy classification methodology across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The analysis centers on four cornerstone policies identified through prior research and program evaluation: (1) minimum broadband speed standards of at least 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload; (2) statutory preferences for network technologies that can scale to higher speeds over time; (3) the existence of dedicated state broadband infrastructure funds; and (4) affordability requirements or programs tied to publicly funded broadband investments. These cornerstones collectively address three core dimensions of universal access—availability, quality, and affordability—while recognizing the public sector’s role in correcting market failures that persist even with large-scale subsidies.

Methodologically, the study relies exclusively on qualitative legal and policy analysis. Researchers systematically reviewed publicly available state statutes and administrative codes to determine whether each state codified the relevant cornerstone policies. For each cornerstone, states were classified as either meeting or not meeting the defined criteria based on explicit statutory language. To account for variation in terminology, the analysis incorporated equivalent policy concepts, such as “future-proof” or “scalable” infrastructure, where they reflected the same underlying principle. Policies appearing only in grant-scoring criteria or administrative guidance were excluded unless codified in law. This approach prioritizes policy durability and enforceability over program design details or short-term outcomes.

The research draws on multiple disciplinary fields, including communications policy, public finance, regulatory economics, and infrastructure governance. It integrates insights from telecommunications economics on investment incentives and network scalability with public administration literature on statutory authority, policy durability, and intergovernmental federalism. By focusing on law and institutional design, the analysis complements empirical studies of broadband adoption and deployment without duplicating them.

The paper’s contribution is both conceptual and empirical. Conceptually, it advances a framework for understanding broadband policy not as a single deployment challenge, but as an ongoing governance problem requiring durable state-level standards. Empirically, it provides the first comprehensive, cross-state benchmark of statutory adoption of these four cornerstone policies. The findings reveal uneven adoption across states: while many states have embraced one or two cornerstones, relatively few have codified all four. In particular, speed standards and dedicated funding mechanisms are more common than statutory affordability requirements or scalability mandates.

The expected conclusion is that federal investment alone—even at historic levels—is insufficient to ensure lasting universal access without complementary state policy frameworks. States that codify clear standards for speed, scalability, sustained investment, and affordability are better positioned to protect public investments, reduce long-term upgrade risks, and ensure that newly built networks deliver meaningful access for households and businesses. As federal broadband policy enters a period of uncertainty, the paper argues that state-level cornerstone policies represent a critical pathway for sustaining broadband gains and adapting to evolving technological and market conditions.

FOR FULL PAPER, PLEASE CONTACT THE AUTHOR: chumphrey@pewtrusts.org