H.R. 1975 — BEAD FEE Act of 2025

This section prohibits the Assistant Secretary of Commerce from awarding grant funds under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program—except for planning grants under subsection (e)(1)(C)—to an eligible entity after enactment if the entity or any political subdivision charges fees for authorizations to place, construct, or modify broadband infrastructure or for right-of-way use unless the fees are (1) competitively neutral, technology neutral, and nondiscriminatory; (2) publicly disclosed; (3) calculated based on actual and direct, objectively reasonable costs (e.g., for processing requests and repairing affected components or equipment); and (4) described to the requester by distinguishing nonrecurring from recurring fees and sites with existing broadband infrastructure from those without. (The BEAD Program provides $42.45 billion to states for broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas.)