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Supervisor criticizes Nebraska Broadband Office plan, says Gage County left without fiber
Summary
Supervisor Haxby told the board the state broadband plan would leave most of Nebraska without fiber and said Gage County lost roughly half of eligible locations in recent federal map changes.
Supervisor Haxby delivered an extended critique of the Nebraska Broadband Office's (NBO) draft plan to spend $405 million in federal BEAD funds, saying the plan favors fixed wireless and satellite over fiber and leaves many rural Nebraskans behind.
"If there were a trophy for squandering opportunity, Nebraska would already have it on the shelf," Haxby told the board, summarizing the NBO final draft and its project list. Haxby said the NBO plan allocates about $43 million to projects that would connect fewer than 1,300 locations to fiber, leaving more than $350 million unspent and many locations unserved.
Haxby criticized NBO's handling of eligible-location determinations, saying unlicensed wireless providers were allowed to claim coverage "without proof" and that changes to federal maps reduced Nebraska's eligible locations by roughly half. "I wanna add here that Gage County lost 51% of our locations with that," Haxby said during the committee report.
The supervisor also criticized planned spending on satellite projects, citing a small Amazon "Project Kuiper" pilot and additional funding for SpaceX's Starlink in areas Haxby said already have coverage. "This is a patch job, not progress," Haxby said, urging stronger state advocacy for fiber deployment.
Haxby told the board she had worked to increase BEAD funding allocations and described outreach and appeals to change provider claims; she said the county received no fiber projects in the state's draft allocation.
No formal board action on broadband policy was taken at the meeting; the remarks were part of committee reports and public information.
Board members did not debate a motion on the record during the meeting, but Haxby's remarks signal continuing local concern about state broadband strategy and potential advocacy needs.
