Flush With BEAD Cash, at Least 13 States Make Plans For ‘Nondeployment’ Funds

At least 13 states intend to undertake “nondeployment” projects as part of their funding under the $42.5-billion BEAD program, according to their initial proposals. The number of states that expect money left over after allocating funds for all unserved and underserved locations could be higher, and perhaps considerably so. In addition to the 13 states that have specified nondeployment funding proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, seven more states say they have enough funding to meet all locations, but do not detail specific nondeployment plans. The 20 states that are optimistic about being able to use what they regard as sufficient BEAD funds to connect all un- and underserved locations are Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Many of these states have outlined plans for how they will use any remaining BEAD funds in drafts. States can only pursue nondeployment activities if they have a comprehensive plan to deploy broadband service to all currently unserved and underserved areas within its jurisdiction.