BEAD Funding Could Enable Frontier Builds Outside Footprint, But Focus Will be Home Turf

Frontier Communications is “very excited” about the possibility of using Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding to deploy fiber broadband to areas that aren’t currently part of the company’s plan to have fiber available to 10 million locations by 2025, said Chief Strategy Officer Vishal Dixit. He declined to say how many locations might be eligible for funding in the $42.5 billion BEAD program. That number won’t be known until more information about BEAD funding becomes available mid-year, he said. Frontier would consider applying for BEAD funding for areas outside its home turf in limited circumstances, Dixit said. He added, though, that “sometimes in order to reach an area where you won a subsidy, you have to pass other areas and homes along the way. And that might make it economically advantageous to do an edge-out expansion anchored by the grant, which will be focused on the footprint.” Frontier has previously used the term “Wave 3” for locations within the company’s footprint that do not have fiber broadband and where fiber deployments are not part of the current plans.