McKinsey & Company

Decades after the internet’s debut, millions of Americans still lack access to high-speed broadband service. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD) provides $42.45 billion in federal funding to expand high-speed internet service across the country.

Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), every state will receive at least $100 million to start via the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Allocation of this much federal money to states for a specific objective without a long-standing local department or agency in place to ensure the funds are deployed wisely is rare. Many states do not have a dedicated broadband team. If they do, it is often staffed by just a few people who are tucked inside another agency or staffed by a third party.