Bandwidth Hawk: Public or private for BEAD deployments? Why not both?

My answer to “who should build broadband networks” has always started with what should be obvious: Usually, the deployer with the lowest cost of capital. But technology and the $42.25 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program and other funding mechanisms have warped the equation. What are your community’s options? What are the deployer options? What are the traps? I’ve been talking to many executives, mainly from smaller communities and telephone companies, wondering if they should take the plunge. All want to do right by their customers but most also fear overbuilding by competitors using BEAD money or other funds. Ultimately, there are arguments for and against the large national carriers and the small local deployers. Communities need to be careful and consider the details.

[Steven Ross is Editor at Broadband Communities.]