News
Another Louisiana CEO is calling on Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to address BEAD delays and reaffirm a strategic commitment to fibre
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Days after the CEO of Louisiana-based SkyRider Communications penned an open letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick pleading for BEAD to move forward, another Louisiana CEO has voiced a similar call.
In a new letter given to Broadband Communities today, David Herring, the founder and CEO of ClearPath Fiber, said the financial risk to his company is growing “each day federal guidance is delayed or revised.”
Now, Herring says ClearPath “can’t continue this work.”
Click here to read Herring’s full letter to Lutnick
“Not because we aren’t ready,” he writes in the letter, dated April 23, “but because delays and uncertainty are costing us everything.”
According to Broadband Breakfast, ClearPath was awarded over $34.5 million in Louisiana’s BEAD subgrantee selection.
The money will fund ClearPath’s efforts to reach well over 7,300 broadband serviceable locations, the data shows.
Herring’s letter describes ClearPath as “a small, mission-driven startup.”
“We took bold risks, built infrastructure from the ground up, and partnered with manufacturers, contractors, and engineers to serve rural and underserved Americans,” Herring writes.
According to Herring, once confident investors are now backing away due to the delays with BEAD, the nation’s massive $42.45 billion effort to deploy broadband to all Americans as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021.
Howard Lutnick (centre) stands with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in Feb. 2025. YouTube screenshot
The program, which stands for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, has been subject of an ongoing review by Lutnick.
Herring writes that every day of uncertainty is costing jobs.
“We believed in this country’s future and in your administration’s promises to put Americans to work,” the letter reads. “Based on those commitments, we’ve invested real money, secured local support, and laid the groundwork for transformative broadband deployment.”
“Now, we are watching that progress stall,” Herring writes.
‘Let Louisiana move forward’
Herring also urges Lutnick to recognise “what’s happening on the ground in Louisiana.”
“Our state has done everything right,” he says, adding that Louisiana has adopted a tech-neutral approach that does not involve DEI policies.
Herring goes on to say that Louisiana is ready.
“Not next year. Not after another round of revisions. We can be in the ground next week,” he writes. “So why are we being held back?”
The letter concludes with Herring urging Lutnick to stop delaying BEAD.
Herring also calls on Lutnick to “reaffirm fiber as the foundation of our national broadband strategy” and “support Louisiana’s readiness to lead.”
“Let Louisiana move forward,” he says. “Let us lead the way — the right way, right now. Because there’s no benefit in holding back those who are ready, willing, and able.”
Notably, Louisiana has been a leader in the BEAD Program.
In 2024, Louisiana became the first to award BEAD funds, through a state program called GUMBO 2.0 (Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities).
It was also the first state to gain approval for their initial BEAD proposal.
Get content like this delivered to your inbox. Subscribe to the Broadband Communities newsletter.
Learn more about Broadband Communities Summit 2025 in Houston.
