Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) wants to let broadband grant winners from two key programs sidestep “Buy American” requirements currently tied to the money. In proposals submitted to the US Department of Commerce, the NTIA sought waivers for its $1 billion Middle Mile grant and $268 million Connecting Minority Communities Pilot programs.

House Commerce Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) sent a letter to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Alan Davidson urging NTIA to address burdensome permitting processes and other regulatory red tape that may impede the success of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that was created under the Infrastructure, Investment, and Jobs Act. To prevent slow deployment and the determent of investment, the Members urged the agency to require eligible states and territories to work with t

On Monday, September 26, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Director of Research and Fellowships Dr. Revati Prasad hosted an online panel discussion, From the Ground Up: Broadband Mapping By and for Communities, on how communities and states are collecting data on local broadband availability as the Federal Communications Commission rolls out the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) program.

For states, broadband mapping is the hot topic in the quest to identify unserved and underserved areas. Collecting accurate, detailed information on who has, and more importantly, who doesn’t have a broadband connection will be essential in securing the maximum amount of Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding. North Carolina and Georgia have been proactive in collecting broadband coverage data and making it available to the public but have taken different approaches on how they have built their maps.

States have begun to produce their own mapping data for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant allocation.

Thirteen Republican Senators sent a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) asking the agency to change its approach to administering some of the provisions of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants. The letter specifically asked for changes related to rate regulation, technology preference, provider preference, workforce requirements, middle mile deployments, and the application review process (You can read the letter here). It’s

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host a workshop in Gillette, WY, on the $48 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding to give everyone in the country internet access. The idea is to give local governments money to expand broadband services in so-called “digital deserts” where high-speed, reliable internet isn’t available. The funding comes from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The workshop is meant to give Wyoming leaders a heads-up on how to prepare for the funding.

Broadband deserts beget population deserts as many in rural areas seek greener, high-speed broadband pastures. Counties with poor broadband are seeing people move away to get better jobs or to get broadband for their kids. Real estate agents are reporting that it’s extremely difficult to sell a home that has no broadband option. Several studies have shown that students that grow up without home broadband don’t perform nearly as well as students with broadband. There are hundreds of rural counties working hard to get fiber broadband with the hope of stemming the population loss.

Rural and Native communities in the US have long had lower rates of cellular and broadband connectivity than urban areas, where four out of every five Americans live. Outside the cities and suburbs, which occupy barely 3% of US land, reliable internet service can still be hard to come by.

The Federal Communications Commission’s existing broadband availability maps have been heavily criticized as inaccurate, especially for the purpose of distributing billions in subsidy dollars to extend broadband networks to unserved areas. In a rush to distribute the National Telecommunication and Information Administration's (NTIA's) Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) subsidy dollars, a few states have initiated their own mapping efforts and some advocates have proposed alternative mapping means using speed-test data to identify areas that lack adequate broadband.