Life after BEAD: Can states sustain the broadband boom?

For the past several years, the federal government has driven much of the nation’s broadband expansion through a $42 billion investment in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, or BEAD. But as states put that funding to work, an important question looms: What happens when the federal investment runs its course? A new 50-state review from The Pew Charitable Trusts examines four key policy areas that will shape states’ ability to sustain broadband access over the long term. This week, we are joined by Kathryn de Wit, who directs Pew’s broadband access initiative, to discuss the findings, what they reveal about states’ broadband policies and what comes next after BEAD. 

Top stories this week: 

Election security doesn’t start and end at the ballot box. Behind the scenes, state CIOs are helping keep election infrastructure running, from cybersecurity and network capacity to incident response. But who’s actually in charge of those systems? A new StateScoop report looks at how states divide those responsibilities between IT offices and secretaries of state — and what that means when Election Day rolls around.

A new report from Pew Charitable Trusts finds that stronger data-sharing partnerships between state Medicaid and public health agencies could help improve health outcomes, identify gaps in care and better target resources. But outdated technology, incompatible systems and a lack of sustained investment are making it difficult for states to turn those partnerships into long-term collaborations.

The Center for Civic Futures has awarded Nava Labs a grant to develop AI-powered tools that could help states modernize aging technology systems supporting Medicaid and SNAP. The project aims to cut the time agencies spend mapping legacy systems from months to weeks, helping state governments build modernization roadmaps and improve the delivery of public benefits.

Show notes this week include information about Pew’s partnership with Michigan State University to develop BEAD evaluation metrics and benchmarks, and Pew’s recent report about shortcomings in broadband policy and program evaluation.

New episodes of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast are posted each Wednesday. For more of the latest news and trends across the state and local government technology community, subscribe to the Priorities Podcast on Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud or Spotify