Louisiana releases BEAD proposal draft, digital equity plan

As states prepare to receive their allocations from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, Louisiana is putting the finishing touches on its plan to put that money to work. The state’s broadband office released the first volume of its BEAD proposal, outlining Louisiana’s current efforts to deploy broadband, a breakdown of unserved and underserved locations as well as how it plans to tackle the challenge process. Louisiana has also drafted an expansive digital equity plan, per requirements set by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Thomas Tyler, deputy director of ConnectLA, said the digital equity plan is a starting point for meeting the requirements that NTIA needs from a state office. Louisiana is the first state to publicly release its initial BEAD proposal and digital equity plan. Both the digital equity plan and BEAD proposal are available for public comment. He added Louisiana estimates its BEAD allocation will be over a billion dollars, so the state expects “to be able to reach the vast majority of [its] citizens with fiber connections.”