NTIA, FCC Close in on Broadband Map Data for State BEAD Allocations

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is in “close coordination” with the Federal Communications Commission regarding the update to the second version of the National Broadband Map, which will be used to determine state Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) allocations. “We are working with our colleagues at the FCC to determine when we will obtain the version of the map to use for our BEAD allocations,” an NTIA spokesperson said. NTIA is scheduled to release state BEAD allocations by June 30, 2023, and undoubtedly will need some time to work with the FCC data before it can determine those allocations. A bill introduced in the Senate would delay that date to give the FCC time to fix what the bill sponsors called a “deeply flawed” map, but some states are unlikely to support that bill as they say the map is good enough and does not want delays. Assuming the June 30 date holds, NTIA confirmed that allocations will be based on version two of the map’s location database plus the results of broadband data availability challenges adjudicated during the spring of 2023.