Consultant: Fall's Election Dynamics Could Drag Telecom Activity

The telecom industry heads into fall with numerous tailwinds, from the first states starting their broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program application processes to expected interest rate cuts, consultant Terry Chevalier blogged Thursday on LinkedIn. But industry activity could face election-related headwinds, he said. For example, he doesn't expect much progress in crafting next fiscal year's budget in the coming months due to this fiscal year ending with a lame-duck presidency and Congress. Similarly, he anticipates a slowdown in new executive branch agency activities and initiatives until the next administration is in place. However, he said the latest round of Agriculture's ReConnect awards is still likely to be announced by year's end, as well as NTIA's second-round Innovation Award funds. But don't expect activity on the Affordable Connectivity Program or FCC spectrum auction authority in the near future, he said.