BEAD Program Continues to Ramp Up

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, also known as BEAD, will provide $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment and adoption programs across the United States.

The BEAD Program is managed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and was established after Congress passed President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

While much is still in the works, such as the Federal Communications Commission mapping process, the BEAD Program will offer competitive grants to states for broadband deployment and adoption in unserved and underserved communities. Proposed networks must offer a minimum download speed of 100 Mbps and a minimum upload speed of 20 Mbps.

“There’s still questions and decisions up in the air,” says TNBA Executive Director Carrie Huckeby. “Providers across the country are sending updates to the FCC to ensure the maps are accurate, and NTIA faces their own challenges. A representative from NTIA spoke at the NTCA Legislative & Policy Conference in April and explained NTIA is a small government organization and the workforce needed to take on the BEAD project.”

As new information becomes available, we’ll share more in the TNBA newsletter to help keep you informed. For more information, you can also visit the Broadband USA website, the NTIA Grants Portal, and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance website.