Texas Comptroller Slams NTIA Communication on BEAD

NTIA failed to adequately inform states and localities about important deadlines for the broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar (R) said Thursday. When NTIA said in November that it would use the FCC map for BEAD funding allocations, it didn’t say the FCC deadline for location challenges had been due in September, Hegar’s office said. NTIA told the Texas Broadband Development Office about it in mid-December, “effectively negating the immediate benefit of a bulk location challenge by BDO or Texas communities," said Hegar. “It is unfortunate that NTIA’s failure to communicate these important deadlines has the potential to disadvantage Texas and has effectively shifted the responsibility to BDO and Texas communities to respond with a sense of urgency to a problem that our partners at the federal level created and could resolve.” Hegar, who last week urged the NTIA to extend the Jan. 13 deadline for map challenges by 60 days (see 2212130076), said he will continue to urge NTIA for more time to improve map accuracy. “Allowing additional time to incorporate a bulk location challenge into the map fabric is a meaningful step that NTIA can take to improve BEAD funding decisions.” NTIA didn’t comment.