Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

Most State Broadband Offices have decided that DSL is an obsolete technology, regardless of the bandwidth that it can deliver.

Companies that plan to apply for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds should be planning now for how they’re going to staff their projects. Evan Feinman, director for BEAD with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), said state workforce groups typically wait until there is a job shortfall before they initiate training programs. “In this instance, we know there’s $42.5 billion of demand,” said Feinman. “They need to be ramping up training.

President Joe Biden regularly emphasizes how the major pieces of legislation he has signed — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act — expand opportunities for Americans. This is especially true for rural Americans. Those three laws appropriated billions of dollars — about $464 billion — for many projects that could be particularly relevant to rural communities, allowing them to dream of a different economic future.

The Federal Communications Commission recently released the 4th version of the National Broadband Map, with data as of December 2023. At a high level, the trend continues of fewer and fewer unserved and underserved locations: in the previous version, 10.1 million locations were unserved or unserved. Now, with six months more data, we’re down to 8.8 million locations needing better broadband service.

Western Governors encourage Congress and federal agencies to recognize that the current definition of broadband – 25/3 Mbps – does not correspond with the requisite download and upload speeds necessary to support many business, education, and health care applications that promote economic and community prosperity.

When Aaron Wheeler, Washington state broadband office director joined the office, he inherited a process and plans put in place by retiring broadband director Mark Vasconi, and he’s not about to slow the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) process down. While some states are more deliberate and trying to slow down the process of Volume 2 approval to delay the 365-day “shot clock” kicking in, Wheeler explain

Michael Baker International announced that the firm was recently selected by the Arkansas State Broadband Office (ASBO) to provide broadband grant administration systems and services. The firm will partner with ASBO to supply services for managing and administering public funding sources—including the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD), U.S.

On May 21, Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association, sent a letter on behalf of the organization to National Telecommunications and Information Association (NTIA) Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson. The letter followed up on a discussion about the implementation of the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

Recognizing the critical importance of equitable broadband access, the Broadband Equity Access & Deployment (BEAD) program aims to expand connectivity, particularly in multi-family residential buildings.

Digital connectivity is important for everyone to gain access to productivity and life-improving technologies. As we march into the era of generative artificial intelligence and the acceleration of fintech for businesses and personal banking, digital inclusion (DI) becomes an increasingly important topic for community development and economic inclusion.