In 2024, approximately 6 million U.S. households lacked reliable internet access, and nearly 2.8 million of those households were concentrated in the heartland. Across industries, 92% of jobs require digital skills, which means a near universal need for high-speed internet to participate in today’s economy. However, access remains uneven, and for the millions of Americans without high-speed internet, the digital divide stands to worsen given the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) into the American workforce. 

State of Play: The federal Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, passed in 2021, allocated $42.45 billion to expand affordable and reliable high-speed internet nationwide. Four years later, BEAD is nearing the deployment stage: 41 of the eligible 56 states and territories have submitted their final BEAD proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). These plans outline where internet infrastructure is needed, which providers are best suited to build it and what each project will cost. 

As the NTIA reviews applications ahead of its December 2025 approval deadline, Heartland Forward convened state broadband leaders to discuss executing the BEAD program, while offering the opportunity for collaborative problem-solving and actionable next steps among state leaders. The discussion was facilitated by Mary Larkin Furlow, Senior Manager of the Connecting the Heartland Initiative at Heartland Forward—a program which has worked to permanently connect residents to high-speed internet across six heartland states (AR, LA, OH, OK, TN, IL). The webinar drew more than 90 attendees from government, internet service providers (ISPs) and community groups to explore how states can ensure BEAD gets accomplished. The conversation featured key leaders including:

• Glen Howie, Director Arkansas State Broadband Office
• Devon Braunstein, Director Illinois Office of Broadband
• Veneeth Iyengar, Executive Director ConnectLA
• Peter Voderberg, Chief of BroadbandOhio
• Mike Sanders, Director Oklahoma State Broadband Office
• Kathryn de Wit, Project Manager Broadband Access Initiative, Pew Charitable Trusts

The conversation centered around the two primary goals of both deploying the technology at an accelerated pace and helping residents adopt the technology. All participants emphasized the role community partnerships will play in successful programmatic rollout by connecting action to real people, informing community members of BEAD timelines, teaching digital skills and showing why connectivity matters to our local economies. 

To do this, Illinois said it has leaned on “trusted local voices,” Ohio is creating “community action plans with county commissioners…churches and moose lodges” and Oklahoma will engage local leaders to organize at least one connectivity project in each of the state’s 77 counties. As Illinois Director Devon Braunstein noted, broadband deployment “is just step one. Adoption and use are steps two and three.” 

What to expect once the funding is received: While it is expected for states to face common challenges including permitting delays, workforce shortages, complex easements and overlapping jurisdictions—the webinar served as a connection point for leaders across the heartland to talk about how they will collectively work to get this over the finish line.. 

Beyond Infrastructure: Advocating for Non-Deployment Dollars

While infrastructure itself is the foundation of closing the digital divide, the convening additionally surfaced a collective understanding that the future of high-speed internet is about more than the technology, it’s about ensuring people understand how to fully leverage internet access. Speakers including Kathryn de Wit of Pew Charitable Trusts, ConnectLA Director Veneeth Iyengar and Chief of BroadbandOhio Peter Voderberg stressed the importance of non-deployment dollars and why the federal government should approve these funds for states. 

“The internet by itself really isn’t a thing,” said Voderberg. “It’s like electricity coming to a house, but if you don’t have any lights to turn on, then it doesn’t really matter.” 

Education and digital upskilling programs are fundamental pieces of closing the digital divide. BEAD’s non-deployment dollars fund the “lights”: digital literacy, device access and workforce programs that turn infrastructure into opportunity. 

Iyengar described Louisiana’s plan to build a utility map to streamline high-speed internet technology roll out, funded by non-deployment dollars. Recognizing the value of these non-deployment funds, Governor Jeff Landry of Louisiana urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to let states retain leftover BEAD funds for such efforts.

Broadband deployment is only the foundation. To unlock the digital economy’s full potential, every American must be able to connect, learn and participate. 

Long-Term Outlook: What Success Looks

In concluding the session, facilitator Mary Larkin Furlow posed a forward-looking question to each broadband director: what will the BEAD investment mean for the heartland five years from now? The directors’ responses underscored a shared vision, where high-speed connectivity fuels innovation, local ingenuity and the economy. 

• Arkansas: “More than a million Arkansans, over the course of this decade, are going to see broadband speeds for the very first time,” said Glen Howie. “Over one third of Arkansas’s population will be able to access high-speed internet for the very first time.”
• Illinois: Devon Braunstein described a future where data tools are transparent and community-driven: “We can make data more community-oriented and focus on storytelling by asking communities what matters to you? Then we can use this input to build dashboards, maps and interactive projects that empower people.”
• Louisiana: Veneeth Iyengar highlighted the creativity he sees in small towns: “We had a chance to meet with some crawfish farmers…who said, right now, ‘I don’t understand the internet…but if you give it to me, I’ll come up with some pretty creative ways to figure out what to do with it.’ That’s what gets us excited—people’s ingenuity and creativity.”
• Ohio: Peter Voderberg looked ahead to a time when “lack of internet will never be the reason that someone can’t [participate in the way] they want to in their community, in their state and in their town.”
• Oklahoma: Mike Sanders said: “As someone who was born and raised and lives in rural Oklahoma…those people have been forgotten…when it comes to high-speed internet, because of cost. But those days are coming to an end. We’re excited and well positioned to not only get 100% connectivity, but to make sure we level the playing field with the families and folks living here in the great state of Oklahoma.”

Next Action Steps for States and Communities

To ensure smooth BEAD deployment and lasting impact, states and local communities can take several proactive steps. 

Engaging community stakeholders early helps identify and resolve bottlenecks. Local governments can streamline deployment by adopting transparent, predictable permitting and coordinating approvals across departments and regions. Integrating digital and AI tools while  modernizing zoning codes can speed up permitting processes. 

States are ready to move from planning to action. For the heartland, this milestone is more than infrastructure. It’s about ensuring every family, farmer, teacher, student and small business can fully participate in the digital economy. Connection to high speed internet is the number one economic issue of our time.

This is Heartland Forward’s second Pulse piece on the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Read the first piece here, America’s Big Bet Toward the #1 Economic Issue of Our Time—Access to High-Speed Internet, to learn more about the BEAD program in the heartland. 

Explore additional state resources below:

State
Arkansas	Arkansas Broadband Map Arkansas BEAD Program Preliminary Results Dashboard Arkansas Internet Affordability Dashboard
Illinois	BEAD Connect Illinois Round 4: Provisional Awards map
Louisiana	ConnectLA BEAD Map
Ohio	Ohio Broadband Coverage Map  Ohio’s Broadband Availability Gaps
Oklahoma	Oklahoma Broadband Map Oklahoma Broadband Dashboard

Learn more about Heartland Forward’s connectivity work:

• Heartland Forward supports the high-speed internet talent pipeline through the Connecting the Heartland Jobs Board, featuring 350+ ISP jobs and 250+ training programs across the region.
• Access to high-speed internet is the number one economic issue of our time, and that’s why Heartland Forward has made closing the digital divide central to its mission. Learn more about the Connecting the Heartland initiative, started in 2021, Heartland Forward works to permanently connect residents to high-speed internet in six key heartland states—Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee.