Vernonburg Group Files Comments on NTIA’s Draft BEAD Alternative Technology Policy Notice

On Tuesday, September 10th, Vernonburg Group filed comments with NTIA on its proposed BEAD Alternative Technology Policy Notice. In these comments, Vernonburg Group encouraged NTIA to craft policies that will encourage participation from all types of broadband service providers, including fiber, licensed and unlicensed fixed wireless, and LEO broadband service providers. Our comments, which leverage Vernonburg Group’s Broadband Funding Optimization Tool, demonstrate that achieving Internet for All under any scenario will require the use of all of these different broadband technologies, and that use of alternative broadband technologies will be highly variable between states depending on the funding available and the geography of the remaining un- and underserved locations. Therefore, it is critical that NTIA make policies that encourage participation from all these providers, and not make it more difficult for states to leverage certain technologies in designing their BEAD programs. Specifically, we raised concerns about the unique and, in our view, unnecessary, constraints the Policy Note proposed for LEO broadband providers, as well as the excessive capacity reservation requirement the Policy Note suggest placing on alternative technology providers.

Read Vernonburg Group’s filing here.