The new FCC order takes 583,000 locations off the board for BEAD

The Federal Communications Commission released a Report and Order creating the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model program which extends subsidies for rural broadband providers for 10 additional years (beyond the remaining 5 years) at a cost of $1.27 to $1.33 billion annually to the FCC’s Universal Service Fund. In exchange, any ISP that elects this subsidy would be required to deploy 100/20 broadband to everyone in its service area. According to my estimates, if all these ISPs accept the A-CAM offer and build fiber, cable, or licensed fixed wireless, that takes 582,675 locations off the board for the BEAD program. The FCC picking up the tab for some locations will significantly help some states. In Nebraska, the A-CAM areas include 24,776 Unserved and Underserved locations, 23% of their total Unserved and Underserved locations.