Bottlenecks Slowing BEAD: Permits, Locates, Labor, and Materials

ORLANDO, May 21, 2026 — Fiber broadband operators building out networks under federal funding programs said Tuesday that permitting backlogs, locating failures, and rising material costs are adding cost and time to BEAD construction timelines, with margins thin and every dollar of construction spent under scrutiny.

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Two federal broadband programs: BEAD and RDOF

Two federal broadband programs are driving an unprecedented volume of simultaneous permit submissions that has outpaced agency capacity, saidBo Gresham , chief revenue officer at Dycom Industries, the Florida-based telecommunications specialty contractor.

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