Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program
Virginia is getting an extra $250 million for broadband expansion, thanks to researchers at Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech bested the Federal Communications Commission in mapping the commonwealth’s broadband needs. The prize: an additional $250 million in federal money to help fill those high-speed internet voids. The Virginia Tech’s Center for Geospatial Information Technology calculated that the FCC had undercounted by 180,000 underserved locations and challenged the numbers. The FCC conceded about 80,000 locations that are now eligible for support from the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act’s (IIJA) Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Initial Proposal Volume 1: Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Grant Program
The Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) has drafted the following document to meet the requirements for Volume 1 of its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal. The CBO will commence a 30-day period for public comments on Volume 1 of the Initial Proposal. Volume 1 of the Initial Proposal includes the following requirements:
Initial BEAD Proposals and Five Year Action Plans Come Into Focus
The key for states to unlock their portion of the $42.5 billion in federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds is the submission and approval of their Five Year Action Plans and Final Proposal.
Charter CEO: BEAD Funding Will Be ‘Trickier Than We Were Hoping For’
Winning funding in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband program will be “trickier than we were hoping for,” said Charter CEO Chris Winfrey. “We didn’t get all the guidelines and [National Telecommunications and Information Administration] instructions that we were hoping for,” Winfrey said. Instead, some of the guidelines that have been established are “unhelpful to private capital.” Although Winfrey didn’t elaborate, this may have been a reference to rules that favor public/private partnerships.
For BEAD success, broadband providers should engage with states now
The clock is ticking for state broadband offices to submit their initial proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) describing how each state will carry out its competitive Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant process. The vast majority of states are still drafting their proposals and seeking stakeholder input, but that input works both ways.
EDA Grant Lays Foundation for Significant Broadband Investments in Missouri
In September 2021, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) awarded the Missouri Association of Councils of Government (MACOG) a
The Power of a Letter of Support
The newly released Virginia proposed Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant rules highlight an issue that was included in the original grant rules. The BEAD program gives significant power to local governments through local letters of support.
President Biden is providing the funding to bridge the digital divide but one rule could squander this opportunity
Twenty-five years ago, when I headed up the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), my colleagues and I identified what has come to be known as the digital divide while researching the growing gap between the haves and have-nots of internet access. Back then, we never dreamed that the US government would one day commit $42 billion dollars in the form of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the divide. Yet, the Biden administration and Congress have provided the focus and the funds we need to get every American online.
A random sample of the Digital Divide
A tour of the remaining United States Digital Divide from a home in Quincy (CA) to an unserved farm in Newton (NC) to a home in Troy (AL). These locations (and more) are from a random sample of BEAD-eligible unserved and underserved locations that are not part of the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) or Alternative Connect America Model (A-CAM) programs.
Benton Institute Joins Broadband Experts, ISPs, and Local Leaders to Urge Biden Administration to Fix Signature Broadband Investment Program
The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society joined a coalition of 300 broadband experts, internet service providers (ISPs), community leaders, nonprofits, consumer advocates, and business groups to highlight concerns about the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.