D.C. Memo: Did Evan Feinman's Farewell Email Have a Few 'Unserved' Areas?

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BEAD: The man who ran the $42.45 billion BEAD program for the Biden administration left his position last Friday concerned about his legacy. By all accounts, BEAD program Director Evan Feinman was competent, professional, and dedicated to the task before him: providing Internet for all. It is unclear then why he decided to make public a long farewell email critical of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and suspicious of Elon Musk, though neither is mentioned by name.

In his extended message, Feinman defended his fiber-first approach with a fairly relaxed view toward BEAD costs, while at the same time dismissing Musk’s Starlink as an inferior technology certain to harm rural America despite glowing user reviews from land, sea and air across the globe.

Feinman’s email certainly covered a lot of terrain, but it did have its share of “unserved” and “underserved” areas, such as:

Nevada: Feinman was upset because Nevada’s $416.6 million in approved BEAD money was being held up by the Trump administration. Did he mean Lutnick should not be concerned that NTIA endorsed Nevada’s decision to award Beehive Broadband $22 million at $77,000 per location and $4 million to Satview Broadband at $52,600 per location?

Starlink: Feinman was troubled that increased reliance on Starlink will cost more and offer less. Last year, a survey by NTCA – the Rural Broadband Association showed that rural broadband fees would soar to $165 a month on average if the $4.3 billion USF High Cost Fund went down in a pending Supreme Court case. If that happens, won’t many rural Americans that Feinman is concerned about find it a relief to know that Starlink costs $120 a month and now $80 in some limited areas? (Continued after paywall.)