Final BEAD Alternative Broadband Technology Policy Notice

The principal purpose of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is to deploy broadband service to all unserved and underserved locations. To achieve this goal, Eligible Entities (states) may fund a variety of technologies that satisfy the BEAD Program’s minimum technical requirements. The BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) establishes a clear hierarchy of technologies that states must apply when awarding subgrants for Unserved and Underserved Service Projects: (1) Priority Broadband Projects (end-to-end fiber); (2) other Reliable Broadband Service (RBS) projects; and finally (3) Alternative Technology projects (where no subgrant applicants have proposed offering RBS at or below the Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold (EHCPLT) and the use of Alternative Technology would be less expensive than an RBS project).  This Policy Notice outlines the steps states must follow when deciding whether to award BEAD subgrants for Alternative Technology broadband deployment projects. Section 2 provides relevant definitions. Section 3 addresses whether a project area is eligible for an Alternative Technology subgrant, and Section 4 describes conditions that apply to subgrants for the reservation of capacity on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks, if an Eligible Entity chooses to offer this type of subgrant. All BEAD subgrants, including Alternative Technology subgrants, must comply with the terms and conditions of the BEAD Program, including the requirements in the BEAD NOFO. States must seek the most robust technology feasible at each location. As outlined in prior NTIA guidance, states intending to award BEAD subgrants for Alternative Technology must first demonstrate that no RBS was deployable for less than the EHCPLT by leveraging multiple strategies to obtain bids for Priority Broadband Projects and other RBS projects that fall under the EHCPLT. States must ascertain whether BEAD funding for all Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) in a project area is necessary by determining whether an Alternative Technology provider already is providing service that meets the BEAD Program’s technical requirements to BSLs in the project area or is subject to an enforceable commitment to do so. If there are BSLs in the project area where no Alternative Technology is currently providing service that meets the BEAD Program’s technical requirements or is subject to an enforceable commitment to do so, Eligible Entities may consider awarding an Alternative Technology subgrant for those locations.