The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a policy notice on June 6 enacting significant reforms to the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. The new changes are intended to expedite the implementation of BEAD projects.
The BEAD program is a $42.5 billion grant program funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. It supports states and territories in their efforts to deploy high-speed broadband access to underserved areas.
The changes include cuts to regulations and approval criteria, along with a notable expansion of accepted technologies.
One of the most significant changes is the administration’s new tech-neutral approach. While the original BEAD program favored one type of technology, predominantly fiber optics, the subgrantee selection process will now consider all types of distribution technologies. According to NTIA officials, this effort will foster a competitive marketplace, lower costs and speed up implementation.
States and territories have 90 days to conduct a new “Benefit of the Bargain Round” of subgrantee selection that includes this tech-neutral approach.
The notice also removes climate change requirements, as NTIA guidance will instead favor reliability and resiliency of projects.
For the environmental analysis required for permitting, the NTIA has launched a new tool intended to expedite the process by several months. The internally developed Environmental Screening and Permitting Tracking Tool will be used by all eligible BEAD projects to speed up National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processing times.
The administration will also cut the requirement in which eligible entities must consider non-traditional broadband sources in their final proposal, such as local municipalities or subdivisions. The NTIA anticiaptes the elimination of this mandate will provide a more stable award process for less capable providers.
Regarding rate regulation, the notice states that the NTIA will refuse to accept any low-cost service included in an entity’s final proposal that attempts to impose a specific rate. It will instead require entities to allow providers to submit their existing low-cost plans driven by the market.
The administration will also eliminate the requirement that entities include a middle-class affordable plan, citing the undefined nature of the requirement.
The NTIA will eliminate two BEAD program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) requirements. The first, called “Consumer Protections,” previously required states to ensure that BEAD-funded providers do not impose data caps or engage in certain practices. The second, dubbed “Interconnection Requirements and Wholesale Access,” required providers to allow wholesale network access to their competitors.
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