BEAD Program

What It Means

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program is a $42.45 billion federal infrastructure program created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Public Law 117-58) signed by President Biden in November 2021. BEAD is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce and represents the largest single broadband infrastructure investment in U.S. history, roughly 3x larger than all previous federal broadband deployment programs combined. Each state, territory, and the District of Columbia received a BEAD allocation based on the number of unserved locations (below 25/3 Mbps, weighted most heavily), underserved locations (below 100/20 Mbps), and high-cost locations identified in the FCC Broadband Data Collection. Texas received the largest allocation at $3.31 billion, followed by California at $1.86 billion, Missouri at $1.74 billion, and Michigan at $1.56 billion, with smaller states receiving $100 to $300 million each. BEAD rules strongly prefer fiber-to-the-home as the preferred technology, with alternatives allowed only for extreme high-cost locations. Every funded deployment must include a low-cost plan option of roughly $30 per month or less, targeting former ACP subscribers. States submitted initial BEAD Five-Year Action Plans in 2023 to 2024, with construction starts in 2024 to 2025 and most deployment expected through 2028. In the Broadband Grade, BEAD-funded projects do not yet appear in FCC availability data but will materially improve rural ZIP code grades through 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions