This week, the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved final proposals from 18 states and territories to deliver universal broadband access through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
NTIA said it expects the 18 proposals to save American taxpayers approximately $6 billion. The agency said 53 of the 56 states and territories have already submitted final proposals, and it expects total savings to be at least $21 billion.
“The Trump Administration is on track to deliver universal connectivity in the United States once and for all, with huge cost savings for the American people,” Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said in a Nov. 18 press release.
The $42.45 billion BEAD program was created as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program provides broadband access grants to underserved or unserved communities.
The broadband funding aims to close the digital divide by expanding high-speed internet access through funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
In March, the Trump administration announced it would review the BEAD program. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick claimed the program has “not connected a single person to the internet and is in dire need of a readjustment.”
The Commerce Department unveiled its changes to the program in June, touting a new “tech-neutral” approach and tossing its previous fiber-centric efforts to the curb.
“After stripping away burdensome rules and regulations and wasteful requirements, taxpayers will save billions in unnecessary costs while connecting those in need to high-speed broadband through the full spectrum of broadband technologies,” Lutnick said in announcing the 18 approvals this week.
The states and territories approved by NTIA include Louisiana, Wyoming, Iowa, American Samoa, Georgia, Arkansas, Delaware, Guam, Maine, New Hampshire, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Dakota, Hawaii, Montana, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
One state, Louisiana, has signed its award amendment, which NTIA said allows the state “to access BEAD funds to begin delivering broadband to its constituents.”
More information on the final proposals can be found here.