Panelists Urge States to Plan Now for NTIA BEAD Program

Public interest advocates urged states to start planning now if they haven’t already for NTIA’s broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition webinar Thursday on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s broadband funding. Panelists also said NTIA should take a technology- and provider-neutral approach to setting eligibility requirements for the middle mile and other programs.

“If your state isn’t ready … it’s going to be a problem,” said Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman. States should establish their broadband offices now and get to know their state coordinator at NTIA, Schwartzman said: “That state coordinator is going to be a critical person in order to make things work.”

NTIA needs to address pole attachment problems in its final program rules, said SHLB Executive Director John Windhausen. It could become a “big problem,” he said. States should include in their plans how they would address any potential pole attachment or replacement disputes, he said.

BEAD funding went to NTIA instead of directly to states through block grants so that the agency could be a “clearinghouse” and set guidelines, Windhausen said. The program is “the main event” at NTIA, Schwartzman said. The agency will “set a lot of terms and conditions” and require cooperation, he said.

The $42.5 billion in BEAD funding is “a lot of money and “can go a really long way” in addressing deployment “shortcomings,” Schwartzman said, but “what we don’t know is everything else and that’s a lot.” The funding depends on the FCC’s maps, he said, adding he’s “skeptical” that new maps will be ready this year and could happen in early 2023 instead. NTIA also must release a notice of funding opportunity within 180 days of the infrastructure law’s enactment, but Schwartzman said it may come in early June instead of NTIA’s previous estimate of mid-May (see 2202090037).

Eligible subgrantees should start thinking about the program’s matching fund requirement, Schwartzman said, noting money from the Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund provided through the American Rescue Plan Act can be used to meet this requirement. Applicants are required to contribute a 25% match, he said. NTIA should consider waiving the matching requirement for “high poverty and rural service areas,” said American Library Association consultant Michelle Frisque.

States should leverage state libraries in planning for NTIA’s BEAD and digital equity programs, Frisque said. The competitive bidding process should be waived if applicants follow applicable state and local procurement processes, Frisque said. ALA is also “concerned” that certain reporting requirements could conflict with state privacy laws and discourage some libraries from participating, she said. The group raised similar concerns about the FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund’s 10-year data retention requirement (see 2106140043).

The middle mile program is intended to fund scalable projects, Windhausen said, questioning whether wireless networks are an option. The program has a technology-neutral requirement, said Quilt CEO-President Jen Leasure, and funding should be allowed to create “neutral interconnected exchange points.” NTIA could also consider adopting a “provider-neutral” requirement to be more inclusive and allow BEAD funding for middle mile projects.