Casey Lide Quoted in Communications Daily Article on the BEAD Program and the Future of Data Centers

Keller and Heckman Partner Casey Lide was quoted in the Communications Daily article, “Providers are Fleeing BEAD Program as Many Unanswered Questions Remain: Panelists.” The article summarizes a panel discussion held during the recent Mountain Connect conference in Denver, Colorado, where speakers discussed ongoing challenges facing the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. 

Casey said frustration with the program remains widespread, noting that many in the industry are “weary” and “ground down by the process.” He also said the future of the program’s non-deployment funds remains uncertain, describing it as “a giant unknown and a huge question,” with guidance from the administration repeatedly being “pushed back.”

Casey further explained that some rural electric cooperatives are choosing to withdraw from the BEAD program because NTIA requires participating co-ops to subject their poles to FCC jurisdiction despite their statutory exemption. “You’re talking about providers in the most rural, hard-to-reach parts of the country, which you think would be perfectly suited to take BEAD funds,” he said, adding that many have concluded “the juice is not worth the squeeze.”

Turning to artificial intelligence, Casey said smaller edge facilities will play an increasingly important role in handling AI traffic. He noted that projections for data center deployments over the next decade have been overstated, while investments in edge AI have been understated. “We’ll see a lot more applications happening at the edge.”

To read the full article, please click here (subscription required).