Proposed BEAD Alternative Broadband Technology Guidance

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, established by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), provides $42.45 billion of funding to states, territories, and the District of Columbia (Eligible Entities) for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the agency responsible for administering the BEAD Program, issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity describing the program’s requirements, including the requirement that each Eligible Entity submit an Initial Proposal describing, among other things, fair, open, and competitive processes for selecting subgrantees. The Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold is a subsidy cost per location, established by Eligible Entities and utilized during the subgrantee selection process, above which an Eligible Entity may decline to select a proposal for Reliable Broadband Service if use of an alternative technology meeting the BEAD Program's technical requirements would be less expensive.

In response to inquiries from Eligible Entities and other stakeholders, NTIA is proposing to issue:

• A BEAD Alternative Broadband Technology Policy Notice to provide Eligible Entities with additional guidance regarding the use of alternative technologies to serve unserved and underserved locations within their jurisdiction.  

NTIA seeks comment from the public on this proposed guidance as well as the issues noted in Appendix A. If you wish to provide comment to NTIA, please submit to BEAD by 11:59PM ET on September 10, 2024.

Please note that these are draft documents. Eligible Entities may not rely on NTIA guidance until it is finalized.  

SUMMARY:

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Infrastructure Act), enacted in November 2021, includes funding for robust investment in American infrastructure projects. The Infrastructure Act includes the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which provides $42.45 billion of funding to achieve reliable, affordable, and high-speed Internet coverage throughout the United States. See Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Division F, Title I, Section 60102, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (Nov. 15, 2021). The U.S. Department of Commerce, in keeping with its mission to create the conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all communities, is ready to lead the building of equitable access to universal high-speed Internet coverage in the United States, in partnership with other agencies and Departments.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the agency responsible for administering the BEAD Program, provides herein additional guidance to inform the allocation of BEAD Program funds to projects utilizing an alternative technology that does not meet the BEAD Program’s definition of Reliable Broadband Service, but otherwise satisfies the program’s technical requirements.

This Policy Notice elaborates on, but does not replace, the BEAD Eligible Entity (States, Territories, and the District of Columbia) requirements outlined in the BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (BEAD NOFO or NOFO)¹ that each Eligible Entity must adhere to for the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to approve its Initial Proposal and Final Proposal.²

Any Eligible Entity that received NTIA approval of Volume II of its BEAD Initial Proposal prior to the publication of this updated guidance and that wishes to modify its Volume II or Initial Proposal Funding Request to reflect this updated guidance should contact its Federal Program Officer for direction.

Version Number: 1.0
Last Modified: 8/26/2024