Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is underway and on track, and the 10-year initiative is expected to continue as planned when a new presidential administration takes over the White House in January. Experts argue the new administration will not impact the program’s continuation, but 

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the release of the Request for Applications under the ConnectALL Deployment Program making $644 million in federal funding available to expand affordable, high-speed broadband access to the remaining homes and businesses in New York State that do not have any reliable broadband option or an existing commitment for service under another program.

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) has been the talk of the town for the past few years. The U.S. government touts the program is key to closing the country’s digital divide once and for all. Billions of dollars are on the line, so BEAD must succeed...right? I don't want to downplay BEAD's importance too much, because we'll probably never see something like it again in our lifetimes. But amid all the uncertainty about what BEAD will and won't be under Trump, there's a glaring elephant in the room.

The Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation, and Technology (OSIT) is ready to submit the Final Proposal for the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to the National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA). The Final Proposal will include the provisional winners of Nevada’s first round of BEAD funding.

The headline isn’t entirely accurate because of the use of the word lien. However, the government maintains what it calls a property trust relationship in assets constructed with federal grant dollars, which is similar to, but not the same as a bank lien.

Internet providers, utility companies and West Virginia broadband officials are trying to speed up settling pole attachment disputes that threaten the state’s $1.2 billion broadband expansion, according to two proposals from a closed-door task force obtained by Mountain State Spotlight. The first would speed up resolving disputes and the second would require utilities to report more information about the status of their poles. As internet service providers apply to attach fiber or other equipment to poles owned by power companies, they’ve been charged unexpected fees and the costs associate

According to data from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), there are now more than 400 public broadband networks in the US, serving over 700 communities. Moreover, several (but not all) communities have prevailed in recent years at changing existing state laws preventing the launch of public broadband networks, including most recently Colorado and Minnesota.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients outlined the priorities for President Biden’s final days in office. Zients said to expect, as part of Biden’s investing in America agenda, more action on high-speed internet funds to states, CHIPS and Science Act incentives funding and Inflation Reduction Act funding.

Governor John Carney (D) and the Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI) Delaware Broadband Office (DBO) proposed $17.4 million in competitive grant funding awards to two internet service providers to extend broadband service to more than 5,600 unserved and underserved homes and businesses throughout Delaware. Through an open and competitive process following two years of federal planning and approvals, DBO received a total of 21 proposals from five internet service providers to provide service to eight grant areas across the state.

The University of Hawaii Broadband Office (UHBO) is offering guidance for organizations putting together applications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The applications are due on the last day of January. Hawaii was awarded $149 million in the program. There are eight RFPs, split between unserved/underserved locations and community anchor institutions.