Bipartisan Support Builds for Using Remaining BEAD Funds on a Digital Opportunity Dividend
By: Paul Garnett and Greg Guice
Rural area of upstate New York, slated to benefit from available BEAD funding.
Most state and territorial broadband offices have completed subgrantee selections for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program last-mile connectivity projects and submitted their final proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). By adopting the technology neutral approach outlined in NTIA’s latest directives, state and territorial broadband offices (Eligible Entities) have identified subgrantees capable of delivering high-speed connectivity to every unserved and underserved location in the country, while significantly reducing program costs below federal appropriation amounts. Over $18.4 billion has been provisionally awarded to extend coverage in the 52 states and territories. That means that these states and territories have roughly 60% of their total federal allocations remaining, or nearly $20.9 billion.
As we detailed in our June blog, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) clearly provides Eligible Entities with the authority to spend these funds—a Digital Opportunity Dividend—on a variety of enumerated uses, including broadband adoption initiatives. Congress intentionally structured the BEAD program to first ensure plans are in place to build the last-mile networks in unserved and underserved communities, and then to allow the states and territories to fund other programs that “facilitate the goals of the [BEAD] program.”
As the funding ramifications of BEAD subgrantee selections have become clearer, a growing and bipartisan chorus of federal and state policymakers is calling on NTIA to allow states and territories to use remaining BEAD funds to advance their broadband-related objectives.
In a letter to the Commerce Secretary, Louisiana’s Republican Governor Jeff Landry argued that allowing states to invest their remaining funds in state-led initiatives, such as workforce training and AI advancement, would “vividly demonstrate the business and financial savvy that is a hallmark of your department and the Administration overall.”
Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker told his constituents that Congress was clear: “States can use this remaining grant money,” adding that the funds should be used to modernize public safety and invest in skilled workforce training for emerging technologies like AI.
New Mexico Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján and a dozen House Democrats led by Representative April McClain Delaney have sent letters urging the NTIA to provide immediate clarity and allow states the flexibility to use funds for non-deployment activities as authorized by the statute.
West Virginia Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito has been vocal about ensuring her state receives its full, promised allocation, signaling a fight to retain all designated funds.
In a recent op-ed, Missouri Republican State Representative Louis Riggs argued passionately against federal policies that hamstring states and prevent rural communities from accessing the networks necessary to participate in the AI revolution.
State broadband offices are certainly ready to press ahead, too. The director of Louisiana’s broadband office (ConnectLA) has emphasized that Louisiana sought to use their remaining BEAD funds to “improve healthcare outcomes, increase the labor force participation rates, increase economic GDPs and help impact small businesses.” The director of Texas’ Broadband Development Office also recently confirmed to Politico that Texas “definitely” has a plan “to utilize all” remaining BEAD funds and the state, like all others, is simply awaiting federal guidance.
It is also critical that steps are taken to ensure states and territories have adequate funds to complete projects extending last-mile broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved locations. Even with the best plans in place, the cost of deploying networks could unexpectedly rise, last-mile infrastructure will need to be deployed to new locations, and some subgrantees will default on their commitments. To that end, it would be prudent to reserve a significant portion of territories/states’ remaining BEAD funds—a “rainy day” fund—to cover the unexpected.
The message from states and their elected officials is clear: the work is not done building connected communities through BEAD. Pairing the newly awarded deployment projects with targeted investments ensures that the bipartisan promise of BEAD is fulfilled: not only to connect all Americans to the internet, but to empower them to thrive in the country’s economic, educational, and civic life.
In the coming weeks, Vernonburg Group will release a series of blogs, which will focus on the creative and innovative ways states are looking to use remaining BEAD funds for workforce development, digital skilling, and other uses that will facilitate the goals of the BEAD program. Our next blog will focus on the uses that states have previously outlined and where NTIA may consider granting additional uses for these funds to promote programmatic integrity and innovative solutions.
