New BEAD sheds locations and some fiber bidders

On September 4, states must submit their final proposals, selecting Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment grant winners, to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for approval. Early signs suggest those awards will favor satellite providers and serve fewer locations than expected. As a refresher, the Trump administration's NTIA revised the rules for the BEAD program in early June. While BEAD previously sought to prioritize fiber deployments, the new rules stipulate states must select the cheapest technology for the job. That change-up required states to re-do their BEAD plans, and the NTIA in July approved all initial proposals from states and territories spelling out how they plan to conduct their grant processes. Now, as states proceed with their revised BEAD bidding processes, early signs suggest that BEAD dollars will reach fewer locations than expected and that low-Earth orbit satellite providers are primed to scoop up billions that were largely off limits in the former, fiber-focused version of the BEAD program.