Missouri Delays Award Announcements Pending BEAD Changes

Missouri’s Office of Broadband Development reported that scoring and initial determinations for Round 1 of the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program process could result in preliminary awards for 150,712 eligible locations. The state is not announcing who the winners are, however. Missouri is set to receive $1.736 billion in BEAD funding. The OBD is part of the state’s Department of Economic Development. Their update noted that The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is reviewing the BEAD program at the federal level and that it expects guidance soon. It points to the 90-day extension that has been put in place pending possible changes. The uncertainty surrounding the program has led OBD to refrain from providing details that under other circumstances likely would be available.