ACA Connects, Fiber Broadband Association, NTCA Encourage NTIA to Retain Congressional Priority for Fiber Projects in BEAD Proposals

ACA Connects–America’s Communications Association, the Fiber Broadband Association, and NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, and the Fiber Broadband Association encouraged the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to “stand its ground” in prioritizing fiber projects and maximizing the deployment of fiber networks as Congress intended under the Broadband Access, Equity, and Deployment (BEAD) program amid calls for the agency to reject or weaken initial proposals submitted by some states and territories. In a letter to NTIA Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson, the associations called on NTIA to ensure states and territories fulfill their responsibilities to connect all eligible locations to high-performance broadband service and to prioritize all-fiber builds, as directed by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The associations explained how this vision can be realized using a data-driven analysis and taking into account the efforts of other broadband funding initiatives as well.