States Will Soon Have Big Broadband Funding Responsibility; BEAD Playbook Offers Advice

State governments will soon have a big responsibility that will impact the availability of broadband in their states. The Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes $42.5 billion available for broadband deployments and gives state governments responsibility for awarding those funds. Considering that some states currently have no state broadband office and those that do have an average of 10 staffers, it would appear that the states can use all the advice they can get. Providing that advice is the goal of a new 42-page Broadband Infrastructure Playbook created by telecom consulting firm Cartesian for the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is expected to provide more details in a notice of funding opportunity (NOFA) to be issued in May 2022, and service provider associations have advised NTIA to take a strong supervisory role toward the states. In the meantime, the playbook advises states not to wait until the NOFA to start making plans.