2024 State broadband special report

Nearly 30 state broadband officers attended the recent Fierce Network Broadband Nation Expo in Washington, D.C., where they outlined some of their top concerns related to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Some of their top issues include when they will disburse funds for broadband projects, who will bid for BEAD monies, what types of technologies they’ll use to deliver broadband to unserved locations and how they’ll set the high-cost thresholds in their states. State broadband officers also talked about the cost and availability of middle-mile networks. And they discussed the fact that BEAD biddable areas aren’t always in rural areas. There are urban areas to consider as well. Finally, they are thinking ahead about the procurement of supplies and labor to deploy all the new fiber networks.