Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

On August 7, 2024, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the third funding report showing fiscal year (FY) 2022 data reported by 13 agencies across 70 programs making investments in broadband.

Since Congress established the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, the media, government officials, and the public want to know how much funding will be available, which technologies will be deployed, and how the program will be administered. Often lost in the shuffle, however, are important steps Congress took to address long-standing challenges to equitable broadband access to ensure that funds received by state broadband offices are used to advance the BEAD program’s goals.

As part of his commitment to connect every home and business in Kentucky to high-speed internet, Gov. Andy Beshear announced today that the state has opened the Broadband Grants Management Portal for user registration. Registering is the first step in applying for funds from Kentucky’s $1.1 billion allocation from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Internet service providers, local governments and nonprofits are all eligible.

In a recent panel, Gary Bolton, CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), spoke candidly about the idea of SpaceX getting Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds. Bolton said he thought using federal funding for low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite broadband coverage was “absurd.” He said SpaceX’s top boss Elon Musk already has his roadmap set for deploying Starlink satellites. He added that it would be a big “cop out” if the BEAD program left the most difficult-to-reach locations to satellite broadband. The U.S.

Nokia says that it will self-certify a number of products as being manufactured in the United States and okay to use in the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The self-certifications are mandated by the requirements of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act. Nokia says it is the first vendor to have completed self-certification. The Nokia press release links to a webpage that lists 21 products that it has certified.

The relationship between broadband and other priorities for Utahns—such as employment, education, health, civic engagement, technology innovation, and entrepreneurship—is undeniably important and will only become increasingly so. Broadband infrastructure deployment and adoption are key components for accomplishing economic growth, accelerating educational innovation, expanding access to health care, and increasing personal connection. The State of Utah wants to ensure every resident has access to reliable and affordable broadband internet to enhance their quality of life.

Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program money may be enough to connect most folks to 100/20 Mbps, but those speeds likely won’t cut it by the end of the decade, said Connect Humanity’s Brian Vo. We’ve heard from the White House that the BEAD Program will help connect everyone in the country to reliable and affordable high-speed internet by 2030.

Money is beginning to really flow into the U.S. fiber ecosystem, but the dollars are coming from a somewhat unexpected source—middle-mile and long-haul fiber projects.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Wyoming’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Wyoming to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. Wyoming was allocated over $347 million to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.  

This is the third Federal Broadband Funding Report produced by NTIA, showing fiscal year (FY) 2022 data reported by 12 agencies across 70 programs making investments in broadband. This is the first Federal Broadband Funding Report to highlight trends across three fiscal years of data collected. For the first time, this report not only will release a dashboard of major findings but will also include a comprehensive view of broadband investment data reported across the last three data collections—reflecting broadband investments from FY 2020 to 2022.