BEAD Grants – File Early or Wait?

Several states have already announced that there will be multiple rounds of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grant applications. This makes a lot of sense for states that will be receiving a significant amount of BEAD funding. It’s a daunting prospect to try to meet all of the goals established by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in a single round of grants. One issue of concern for State Broadband Offices has to be what they should do if nobody asks for grant funding from some parts of a state. I’ve been working with a lot of parts of the country where a 75 percent grant might not be sufficient – particularly when considering the extra costs that BEAD adds to building a broadband solution. I think internet service providers (ISPs) and State Broadband Offices will eventually need to negotiate to bring broadband to the highest-cost places. I believe States are going to have to get very creative if they really want to get all of these tiny pockets served because ISPs are not likely to go through the complicated BEAD grant process to serve tiny, isolated areas. It’s my opinion that communities with a strong preference for specific ISPs need to work with their chosen ISPs to be part of the first round of BEAD grant filings. Otherwise, they take a big chance that somebody they don’t want will file early and win the first round of BEAD grant filings.