Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

Roger Timmerman, CEO of Utopia Fiber, called out the "army" of lobbyists that are keeping broadband speed standards down in the US. "The problem is we've got an $8 million a week lobbying effort from big telecom, and so anytime the federal government – or even now at the state level – when any of them try to raise that bar for the standard of what consumers need for broadband, there's an army of lobbying that goes up and opposes that.

In a reference to all the attention and funding that is being focused on rural broadband, NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield said, “We need to be making hay while the sun is shining.” Bloomfield highlighted two new initiatives aimed at helping members make hay.

Evan Feinman, director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, said states have the opportunity to correct some of the deficiencies of the Federal Communications Commission's National Broadband Map by running their own challenge process. He noted, for example, that “communities will be able to bring forward large numbers of speed tests” – a move that could address concerns about the accuracy of the availability data that service providers are reporting.

Peter Dresslar, a broadband and digital equity consultant for both the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and American Samoa, is of two minds. While he knows that the Federal Communications Commission is working as hard as it can to deliver accurate broadband maps to the country, some of the oversights in the mapping of the Pacific Territories have been darkly comic.

The Illinois Office of Broadband and the University of Illinois System announced the launch of the Connect Illinois Broadband and Digital Equity Planning Initiative. This year-long local coordination, engagement, and planning project will enable the state to receive the historic federal Digital Equity (DE) and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program funds in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The initiative will leverage growing capacity within the Illinois Broadband Lab, which leverages $12.5 million in state and federal funding to support and sustain current programming

Here is an overview of the major federal funding vehicles for broadband that are helping to fuel the broadband investment cycle and are aimed at closing the digital divide so that all Americans have access to high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband:

The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program has $42.5 billion to invest in rural broadband. But that funding is not expected to cover the full cost of making broadband available to unserved areas. That’s where matching funds come in. Program rules call for network operators seeking BEAD funding to use other funding sources to cover at least 25% of project costs, except in the highest-cost areas. States have the option of setting the minimum even higher. Where can networks get matching funds? 

The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether broadband-service providers exaggerated their level of coverage to authorities preparing to distribute billions of dollars in subsidies. At issue are claims by carriers that they already provide high-speed internet service to rural and other underserved areas where it’s not actually available. The Biden administration is awarding $42.5 billion to increase access in these locations. Areas served and unserved are being marked on a map compiled by the FCC.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden (D-DE) charged the federal government with advancing equity for all, including communities that have long been underserved, and addressing systemic racism in our Nation’s policies and programs. In this new executive order, the President extends and strengthens equity-advancing requirements for agencies, and positions agencies to deliver better outcomes for the American people. The order calls for:

Broadband expansion is the goal of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) $42.5 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program, but the initiative won’t be successful without a sufficient focus on digital equity and community engagement, said NTIA officials.