State broadband chiefs say BEAD 'true-up' round leaves gaps it can't fill
Four state broadband directors told a Broadband Breakfast panel that NTIA's supplemental BEAD round excludes underserved locations and may underfund the rest.
A supplemental federal broadband funding round excludes some communities still needing service and may underfund others, state broadband directors said on Wednesday at a Broadband Breakfast panel in Milpitas, California.
The round, known informally as a “true-up” round, lets states award grants for unserved locations missing from their approved plans under the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program — homes incorrectly mapped as served, addresses where funded projects fell through, and newly built homes. But National Telecommunications and Information Administration guidance issued in early September sets eligibility and funding limits that officials said could prevent states from closing those gaps.
Only unserved locations — those lacking 25 megabits per second download and 3 Mbps upload — qualify, said Jordan Arnold, Washington’s broadband director. Underserved locations, which clear that bar but lack 100/20 Mbps service, are excluded. In Washington, defaulted projects have left roughly 1,000 underserved locations needing service the supplemental round cannot fund. “I’m just banging my head against the wall because that community desperately needs service,” Arnold said.
Community anchor institutions — schools, libraries and health clinics — are also ineligible, said moderator Joey Wender, executive director of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition.
NTIA calculates each state’s allowance by multiplying its average cost per location by the number of eligible supplemental locations, said Megan Minor, Indiana’s chief broadband officer. Scattered addresses may cost more than that average allows: “These might not be locations that are really in cohesive project areas to make the economics work for such a low cost cap,” she said.
In Oklahoma, remaining grant agreements could be delayed so providers can fold additional locations into construction plans, said Oklahoma Broadband Office director Mike Sanders. Signing now, only to require revised plans six months later, would be “an absolute travesty.”
Washington expects about $350 million after supplemental deployment, Indiana about $300 million and Oklahoma roughly $340 million in remaining balances, the directors said.
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