The need for rural broadband connections is nearly universal, though the decision of whether to lay fiber optic cable like this or to connect people in rural places wirelessly or by satellite continues to stir debate. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
If there were a trophy for squandering opportunity, Nebraska would already have it on the shelf.
On Sept. 3, the Nebraska Broadband Office, or NBO, released its draft final proposal for how to spend $405 million in federal broadband funds. Advocates for rural broadband like myself fought hard for that money, challenging providers’ overstated coverage and identifying tens of thousands of missing locations.
The federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program, or BEAD, promised to fix rural broadband in Nebraska once and for all. Instead, NBO fumbled. Out of $405 million, the plan spends barely $43 million and connects fewer than 1,300 locations to fiber broadband. More than $350 million is left untouched, likely to go back to D.C. without benefiting our state. That’s not planning. It is malpractice.
Fiber is permanent infrastructure. It is reliable, weatherproof and built to last for decades. It is the backbone of education, healthcare, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, manufacturing and remote work.
NBO’s alternative? Fixed wireless and satellite. Both have their place, and they aren’t inherently bad solutions for rural connectivity. But their performance, reliability and future scalability pale in comparison to fiber. Relegating over 10,000 rural homes and businesses to second-class broadband is a disservice to every Nebraskan — a patch job, not progress. Betting Nebraska’s future on them is like renting a tent in tornado alley and calling it a house.
NBO claims Nebraska’s proposal is “connecting homes, businesses and community anchor institutions.” Optimistic and only half-true. More than 700 schools, libraries, fire departments and health centers were identified as eligible for BEAD’s funding for that purpose. NBO chose to connect only 54.
NBO’s biggest misstep was how it handled location eligibility. Nebraska started with nearly 30,000 eligible locations. Then NBO let unlicensed wireless providers claim coverage without proof. No maps. No evidence. Just “trust us.” Overnight, 7,500 locations were suddenly reclassified as “served.” Add in federal map changes, and Nebraska lost 52% of its list. Most states cut none.
Then there are the satellites. NBO is spending $2.3 million on Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a service with zero customers and a handful of test satellites in orbit. The proposal trusts Jeff Bezos’ hobby project to serve 1,500 Nebraskans. SpaceX’s Starlink, which already covers Nebraska, gets another $2.5 million to serve places it already serves. This is internet meant to power a campsite, not an economy.
Transparency is scarce. Since Sept. 3, NBO has revised its project list three times, each time cutting funding for schools and libraries with neither explanation nor notice. Just moving numbers around and leaving the public and providers in the dark.
Meanwhile, our neighbors are lapping us. Iowa and Kansas, with the same “flat and treeless” terrain Nebraska used as an excuse, each connected about half of their locations to fiber. Wyoming and Montana, with tougher topography, managed two to three times Nebraska’s fiber commitment. North Dakota? 93% fiber. Nebraska? Dead last — an outlier in the worst way.
Yes, the rules changed. Yes, it made the job harder. But the job is not to roll over when Washington makes things difficult. The job is to fight for Nebraskans, not fold. That is surrender, not leadership.
Excuses might make the politics easier, but they do not bring lasting infrastructure to our farms, schools, businesses and families. If other states can push back and still commit to fiber, Nebraska could too.
Our state’s chance at full connectivity is fading before our eyes. Nebraska appears poised to leave more than $350 million on the table and lock rural communities into second-rate service.
Nebraskans didn’t fight for $405 million to watch it evaporate. Fiber is the gold standard, and we deserve leaders with the backbone to deliver it. Anything less is a betrayal of every family, farmer, business and student left behind on the wrong side of the digital divide.
Haxby is a fifth-generation farmer in Gage County, raising corn, soybeans, and cattle with her family. She also serves on the Gage County Board.
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