Ensuring Bids for ALL Eligible Locations in BEAD: The Challenge Ahead

States are racing to finish their Initial Proposals for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's $40+ billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. One of the things they need to be thinking about is how to design their programs so that they have viable applicants for all their eligible locations, not just most of them. This requires a radical shift in mindset from past grantmaking activities, when the state’s task was to award grants to improve service in discrete areas. NTIA has said time and time again, the Administration’s goal is to bring high-speed reliable internet to all. 95% coverage is not an A—it’s a failure. States like Colorado and Texas have discovered in prior funding programs that some geographies eligible for awards received no applications. That’s a problem that has to be solved.