BEAD program stirs debate as states navigate high-cost threshold

As states and territories define high-cost thresholds for their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) proposals, the industry finds itself divided on the best approach. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress established a preference for "priority broadband projects" that meet high performance standards, can scale with needs over time, and will enable the deployment of 5G. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has since determined that "end-to-end fiber optic facilities" are the platform most likely to satisfy those requirements. Subsequently, the NTIA directed each state and territory to set an “extremely high cost per location threshold” (EHCT), which defines the point at which a preference for fiber deployment is no longer cost-effective. In areas where fiber deployment would exceed the EHCT, they can opt for technologies that are typically more inexpensive to deploy, like fixed wireless. States won’t recommend an exact dollar amount for the thresholds in their BEAD proposals, said NTCA EVP Mike Romano. Essentially, they will propose a general “equation” to calculate specific thresholds location-by-location. Determining the appropriate funding threshold will depend on the size of the geographic areas that states aim to cover, said Romano. Setting smaller, manageable units could make it easier for them to set the threshold at a level that will “maximize getting fiber to as many people as possible while recognizing there will be places that you need to consider alternative technologies,” he said.