Commerce Secretary to NTCA Members: Prepare to Compete and Win BEAD Funding

During the opening of the 2024 RTIME, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo encouraged small, community-based broadband providers to pursue Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program grants, telling NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield in a recorded fireside chat that the agency will continue to work to help address administrative burdens, supply chain constraints and workforce challenges. Secretary Raimondo discussed the Biden administration’s goals for the program—representing the single biggest public investment made to try to connect every American to top-notch broadband service—and shared with over 2,200 RTIME attendees that the agency stands ready to support small providers as they vie for BEAD grants beside much larger operators. “My message to the thousands of people listening to us today: Apply, apply. We want you to apply. We need you to apply. We will work with you and hold your hand so that you can apply. The message is: Prepare to compete and win. You can win.”