At the National Broadband Expo held in Orlando, the eager anticipation of various states in the United States to launch the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program is about to become a reality. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced on Tuesday that it has approved final proposals from 18 states and territories, with Louisiana officially receiving funding allocation for the BEAD program. The approved regions include Louisiana, Wyoming, Iowa, American Samoa, Georgia, Arkansas, Delaware, Guam, Maine, New Hampshire, Northern Mariana Islands, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Dakota, Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
This progress is of great significance as NTIA just revised the guidelines for the program six months ago. But Arizona and Nevada broadband managers, who are still waiting for approval, emphasized on Wednesday that each state is at different stages of preparation. Brian Mitchell, Director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Technology and Innovation, said, “It’s difficult to generalize, as each state’s final plan is different. Although there are standardized parts to the review, each state’s situation varies.”
Approval process and challenges
NTIA said that it planned to allocate all BEAD funds before the end of the year, but Mitchell pointed out that before obtaining funds and conducting contract negotiations with Internet service providers, states still need to pass the approval process of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is responsible for the actual allocation management. “NTIA has informed us that it will accelerate the NIST review process, and I look forward to fulfilling this commitment.” He expressed confidence that the Nevada proposal is about to be approved and said, “We are very close to getting it passed.”
Nicholas Capozzi, the broadband director of the Arizona Department of Commerce, pointed out that the state is facing a similar situation. He revealed that after the restructuring notice was released on June 6th, Arizona had to “redesign the plan”, but believed that optimizing the bidding process not only accelerated the approval process but also attracted more ISPs to participate. Specifically, the number of applications in the state increased by 40%, and the number of new suppliers increased by 33%. “Many suppliers who participated in the first round of bidding significantly optimized their solutions,” Capozzi added. “Project costs remained stable, but suppliers provided more competitive additional funding and diversified solutions such as hybrid fiber optics with fixed wireless and low orbit satellites.”
Deployment obstacles and responses
As states transition to the BEAD deployment phase, obtaining permits remains a major challenge. David Bronston, special advisor at Phillips Wright Law Firm, pointed out that this involves multiple aspects such as infrastructure coordination, worker and community safety, and cybersecurity. “There are inherent contradictions in local land management in the United States, especially in the wireless field, which may require notifying residents within 250 feet of facilities and even holding public hearings, which are inherent challenges.”
Mitchell pointed out that 86% of Nevada’s land is under federal jurisdiction and not only faces local government approval issues. Capozzi believes that approval is essentially an “information sharing issue”: “Many times, suppliers are not clear about what specific licensing qualifications are needed.” In the process of promoting broadband deployment, states still need to overcome these structural barriers in order to effectively utilize federal funds and achieve broadband coverage goals.
