The federal BEAD program was once hailed as a historic opportunity to close America’s digital divide — creating jobs, expanding infrastructure, and delivering broadband to underserved communities. But as Broadband Nation recently reported, 2025 has brought new frustrations for broadband builders, with overhauls, rewrites, and resubmissions piling up and halting progress on projects nationwide.
In an interview with Broadband Nation, Collaborative Synergy founder and President Johannes Maassen discussed how these funding delays are reverberating far beyond government offices.
“Many builders had set plans and contracts in motion and even ramped up staff numbers in anticipation of awards,” Maassen explained. “When the awards stalled and then required resubmission, those contracts didn't get executed, and staff increases were halted.”
The impact is being felt across the industry — from permitting teams juggling resubmissions to field crews facing idle time, erratic schedules, and growing pressure to meet deadlines once approvals finally arrive. The resulting disarray can lead to rushed work, safety risks, and quality concerns in the field.
Maassen also warned that the NTIA’s new “Benefit of the Bargain” policy — requiring additional bidding rounds to ensure lowest-cost broadband builds — may unintentionally compromise the quality and long-term reliability of projects.
“It’s difficult to do things both fast and without mistakes,” he noted. “Fiber still makes the most sense in terms of scalability and future proofing. Picking the wrong technology to save permitting time and effort isn’t a good long-term strategy.”
As the broadband industry braces for an intense construction phase, Collaborative Synergy continues to help builders, utilities, and state offices minimize the fallout from permitting delays through accurate field data, clear communication, and efficient make-ready coordination — getting projects approved and ready for buildout the first time.
Read the full story at Broadband Nation.
