Preparing for BEAD broadband funding

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a once-in-a-generation $42.45-billion investment into high-speed internet access through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program will be available to close the digital divide and provide a future-proof telecommunications network for the country. The challenge now is preparing at the local and state levels to ensure funds go to where they are needed and are spent in an effective manner.

Some states are pressed in finding seasoned people capable of running broadband projects to staff up their offices, while other are shifting modes into figuring out how to navigate the rules and regulations put out by NTIA for securing BEAD funding while keeping track of the various NOFOs, FAQs, and other inevitable modifications as stakeholders ask more questions and better understand the process.

In this process, knowledge is power, with the most accurate knowledge likely to ensure access to the most appropriate level of funding. Already, communities are being asked to check the accuracy of the latest Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband maps, with the data being used by NTIA to allocate additional dollars. Local communities with good granular, street-level information on current broadband availability and speeds are finding discrepancies between their ground truth and what the FCC has estimated and are going through a challenge process to get the information updated.

Previous FCC maps relied on self-reported data from internet service providers at the census tract level and counted an area served so long as it had two addresses within a square mile. The latest generation of maps incorporate ISP-reported data. Many communities say the information shows they have higher speeds than are actually available, affecting the ability to obtain funding for unserved and underserved locations.

One way local communities can help themselves is to hire a mapping or GIS consultant to help quickly verify FCC data and provide corrections where necessary. With billions of dollars in play, inaccurate maps mean funding will flow to other areas, not into local communities with a right to it.

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