S. 4448 — Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026

This section directs the Assistant Secretary to (1) make available on a public website a dashboard tracking each eligible entity's progress under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program through major milestones, including grant funds expended and locations where broadband service has been made available and utilized using such funds; and (2) create a tool to help eligible entities identify federal permit requirements for subgrantees and monitor their progress toward obtaining such permits.

This section directs the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to improve processing of communications use authorization applications by executive agencies by (1) developing, within 90 days of enactment of the Accelerating Broadband Permits Act of 2026, data controls to ensure accurate and complete tracking of each application's processing time; (2) analyzing delay factors in real time, taking actions to address them, and submitting annual reports on those factors to the Senate Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and on Natural Resources; and (3) establishing, within 90 days of enactment, a method to alert agency staff to applications at risk of missing the 270-day processing deadline.

This section expands the definition of minimum broadband project cost under the FAST Act by adding a new category for projects that (1) are subject to NEPA, (2) involve construction of broadband infrastructure, and (3) are likely to require a total investment of more than $5 million. (Thus, such projects qualify as covered projects eligible for coordinated federal permitting processes and public dashboard reporting.)