Community Engagement is Key to BEAD Grant Planning Process, Experts Say

As state broadband offices enter the planning phase of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, industry leaders say that community engagement is key to ensuring affordability and long-term sustainability. Experts discussed the current surge of broadband funding opportunities and noted the many challenges facing state broadband offices, particularly those that are still young and understaffed. Now that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has awarded initial BEAD planning funds, the next step for state broadband offices is to develop a five-year action plan.

• Jake Varn, associate manager at The Pew Charitable Trusts, says that state officials must make an effort to meet and engage with local communities; 
• Peggy Schaffer, a board member of the American Association for Public Broadband and the former director of Maine’s broadband office, also stated that one of the most important topics for community discussion is that of realistic affordability;
• Another critical aspect of community engagement is identifying underserved areas, in addition to the more easily defined unserved areas;
• Alex Kelley, head of broadband consulting for the Center on Rural Innovation said as the planning process moves further, communities and state broadband offices will need to find ways of preventing internet service providers from “cherry-picking the most desirable un- and underserved areas." Kelly also recommended incorporating a variety of mechanisms for assessing the efficiency of grant requests. Only relying on the per-passing cost, he said, can incentivize providers to “pick out or gerrymander… the densest of the un- and underserved areas, and that can lead to perpetuating this phenomenon of kicking the can down the road for the hardest-to-serve areas.”