Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

Kansas Broadband Director: BEAD Funds Will Be Enough If 25% Goes to FWA

The $451 million that Kansas will receive in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program will be sufficient to make service available to everyone in the state if 25 percent of it goes to fixed wireless access (FWA), said Jade Piros de Carvalho, director of the Kansas Office of Broadband Development. That determination was based on cost modeling, she said. Although Piros de Carvalho was disappointed in the amount of funding that the state received, she said, “I anticipate we’ll be OK.

Permitting Council chief says it is gearing up to make BEAD a breeze

Permitting has long been the bane of broadband deployments across the country, but a little-known federal council is working to change that.

Fiber Broadband Association Delivers Geospatial Fiber Planning Tools to Fiber Broadband Community

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) announced a suite of Broadbandtoolkit.com geospatial planning tools for FBA members to visualize existing broadband deployments and areas of opportunity.

Fiber is Preferred by Nearly Two-Thirds of U.S. Consumers According to New Fiber Broadband Association Research

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA) released an annual consumer research report titled, “The Status of U.S. Broadband: The Growing Preference to Fiber Broadband.” The 2023 study reveals fiber broadband is considered the best internet service delivery method in terms of speed and reliability among 63% of all US consumers, including 54% of cable users.

Fiber Broadband Association and Cartesian Expand BEAD Funding Resources for State Broadband Offices

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) and Cartesian unveiled their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Threshold Financial Model that helps states calculate their Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold (EHCT) for fiber broadband deployments using BEAD funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Broadband builders contend with BEAD's letter of credit rule

As states prepare to roll out Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program funding they will have to ensure that providers and local stakeholders are educated on the process of being approved to build with that money. Notably, the program’s letter of credit requirement will still be a must-have for those who want to work through BEAD, despite some pushback on that rule.

BEAD waiver information coming this summer, NTIA says

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it will release a draft of its requirements for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program spending later in summer 2023, which is expected to include limited exceptions to “Build America, Buy America” rules. The “Buy America” rules require states spend the majority of their federal dollars received through the $42.5 billion BEAD program on American-made materials.

Update: The FCC's Enhanced ACAM offer could take up to 1.3 million locations off the board for BEAD

The Federal Communications Commission published its first “illustrative run” of what the offers might be to broadband providers who elect extended subsidies in exchange for agreeing to bring 100/20 broadband to every location in their “study area.” With this illustrative run document, it now appears that if all the ISPs accept the FCC’s offer, 1.3 million locations would be ineligible for BEAD funding because the FCC would have an enforceable commitment from the ISP to bring service to that location.

A Different Kind of Broadband Investor: Partners Aim to Provide BEAD Matching Funds

Two non-traditional investors are partnering to provide Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) matching funds and to directly invest in broadband for communities that do not win government grants. One of the entities is Connect Humanity, a non-profit fund focused on digital equity.

Reid Consulting claims licensed fixed wireless access providers are overstating coverage, capacity

On behalf of the Missouri Association of Councils of Government, we provide evidence for bulk challenges of broadband availability claims by licensed fixed wireless access (LFWA) providers across Missouri where LFWA service claims contribute to three-quarters of broadband providers' overstatements of service. We urge the FCC to reverse the burden of proof, requiring that ISPs substantiate their claims rather than saddling communities with the near impossibility of proving a negative across such a wide geographic area.