Draft Performance Measures for BEAD Last-Mile Networks Policy Notice For Public Comment

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), provides $42.45 billion of funding to states, territories and the District of Columbia (“Eligible Entities”) for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the agency responsible for administering the BEAD Program, issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (BEAD NOFO) describing the program’s requirements, including the requirement that each Eligible Entity ensure that every Funded Network meets certain speed and latency standards, as well as criteria related to network outages (i.e., reliability). In response to inquiries from Eligible Entities and other stakeholders, NTIA is proposing to issue a Performance Measures for BEAD Last-Mile Networks Policy Notice to provide Eligible Entities and prospective subgrantees with additional guidance regarding BEAD NOFO performance measurement standards related to speed, latency, and reliability of last-mile deployment projects. NTIA seeks comment from the public on this proposed guidance. If you wish to provide comment to NTIA, please submit to BEAD@NTIA.gov by midnight on December 19, 2024. Please note that these are draft documents. Eligible Entities may not rely on NTIA guidance until it is finalized.