Louisiana Still Expects to Be First to Award BEAD Broadband Funds

After Louisiana was the first state to have its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding released in late 2023, it was several months before any other states had their funding released. It looked like a sure bet that Louisiana would be the first to make BEAD awards—and, according to Louisiana Broadband Director Veneeth Iyengar, that’s still the case. Montana recently became the first state to begin accepting BEAD applications. Louisiana began accepting applications a few days later, on August 19. Louisiana is giving broadband providers just two weeks to apply in Round 1, and the state expects to begin accepting applications for a second round just a few weeks later. The second round also will have a two-week deadline. Iyengar expects the state to make its final decisions for the entire $1.3 billion that the state was awarded for BEAD no later than November 1.