States want more fiber for BEAD but eligible locations plummet

Fiber still seems to be the gameplan for states re-evaluating their buildout strategies for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. But initial bidding results are a mixed bag as fewer eligible locations are on the table. Louisiana and Virginia unveiled revised final proposals reflecting the results of the “Benefit of the Bargain” round, where the National Telecommunications and Information Adminstration required states to conduct an additional bidding round to ensure the lowest-cost broadband option. Nevertheless, the duo indicated the bulk of their BEAD funds will still go to fiber providers. Virginia noted 81 percent of its roughly 130,000 BEAD eligible locations will be served by fiber, 10 percent will be covered by low-earth orbit satellite, while cable and fixed wireless access providers will serve the remaining locations. Louisiana is in a similar boat, as it plans to bring fiber to 80 percent of approximately 127,000 broadband-serviceable BEAD locations. That’s only slightly down from the state’s initial goal of covering 95 percent of areas with fiber. SpaceX’s Starlink notably scored $7.7 million for over 10,000 locations but received less funding than wireline providers like AT&T and Comcast.