The First BEAD Final Proposal Approvals Indicate There is Sufficient Funding to Ensure “Internet for All” – and Invest in the Digital Opportunity Dividend
Breese McIlvaine | January 21, 2025
Three states—Delaware, Louisiana, and Nevada—have received the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) approval of their Final Proposals for how they intend to allocate their state Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds. As states nationwide evaluate proposals for BEAD deployment grants, we are starting to see Vernonburg Group’s claim hold true: there is sufficient funding to ensure “Internet for All.”
The remaining states and territories have a real opportunity to advance their digital opportunity goals with a substantial injection of additional funding – a multi-billion dollar Digital Opportunity Dividend. By funding the optimal mix of broadband deployment technologies, states and territories can not only ensure universal access to high-speed broadband but also broad adoption of those services. As such, communities can more meaningfully use and benefit from broadband access, in turn contributing to the financial viability of the very broadband networks BEAD funds.
Louisiana and Delaware have chosen this path. After approving proposals to get nearly 95% of eligible locations fiber broadband and the remainder of unserved and underserved locations with other technologies, Louisiana’s Final Proposal includes over $500 million in funding for non-deployment initiatives. It will focus those investments on expanding rural healthcare access, workforce development, and enhancing virtual learning and educational programming.
Delaware’s Final Proposal indicates it also was able select deployment subgrantee proposals to achieve its broadband availability objectives and still have funding remaining for non-deployment purposes. Delaware intends to use remaining BEAD funds for initiatives focused on internet resiliency, cybersecurity, and digital skilling, in addition to program administration staffing costs.
Louisiana and Delaware have made the right policy choice to devote funding to both close the availability gap and to focus on the adoption gap, which impacts all communities. This includes setting their Extremely High Cost Per Location Threshold at a level the market will bear given matching funds requirements, while ensuring that all households can receive high-quality broadband.
With these examples, the rest of the country has a chance to reflect and be strategic as they select deployment subgrantees and complete their own final proposals. Some may face higher-than-expected deployment costs and be left with few options. We remain optimistic that most states and territories will determine they have a valuable opportunity to achieve their broadband availability objectives while maximizing their Digital Opportunity Dividend.