More broadband deployment funding could be headed to states to serve locations missed in earlier rounds of a $42 billion federal grant program. The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced Thursday that it plans to accept new proposals from states under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. The announcement comes after members of Congress have pressed NTIA for months to provide guidance on how states can use roughly $21 billion in funds remaining after the program’s initial round of proposals. The new round is intended to reach “newly identified unserved locations” that may have become eligible since the previous round, including due to changes in Federal Communications Commission maps or defaults in other state or federal broadband programs. “Congress designed the BEAD program to be the final federal broadband deployment program, ensuring universal broadband availability for America,” NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said in a statement Thursday, adding that through "this targeted use of funding, we are ensuring that we close the digital divide once and for all while also protecting taxpayer dollars.” The money was originally appropriated in the 2021 infrastructure package under President Joe Biden. Roth credited remaining funds to changes the Trump administration made to focus the program on the cheapest options, rather than giving a technology preference to fiber optic broadband. According to NTIA, Roth visited Alaska and attended a roundtable with broadband providers. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who is running for reelection, attended the roundtable. He said in the statement issued by NTIA that the new round could make “over 5,000” new locations eligible for broadband deployment funding in his state. “I fought to ensure that the broadband provisions of the bipartisan infrastructure law focused on truly unserved communities, worked to improve Alaska’s broadband maps, and relentlessly advocated for Alaska with federal officials, including bringing them to our state to see our unique challenges firsthand,” Sullivan said. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., in March sent a letter with Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, urging NTIA to hold an additional deployment round. “I’m thankful NTIA answered our call to make additional funding available to serve unconnected locations,” Fischer said in a statement Thursday. “We need to keep these funds working for Nebraskans, and I will be working hard to allow unobligated BEAD funding to be utilized for other critical purposes like precision ag technologies.” Lawmakers, including some Republicans, have pressed NTIA to let states use funds remaining after their final deployment proposals and to provide guidance on what uses are allowed. In the spring, NTIA held listening sessions to consider possible nondeployment uses for the remaining BEAD funds. Stakeholders discussed digital literacy, device access and affordability. [Related: Broadband program uncertainty has lawmakers, states on watch] In June, Roth testified before a House subcommittee that guidance on uses for the nondeployment funds would be released “this summer.” While NTIA did not announce how much of the remaining funding would be used for the new round, it implied there will still be leftover funds, saying in its supplemental policy notice that “Other uses of BEAD funding will be addressed in subsequent guidance.” Late last month NTIA announced that it had given approval to all final BEAD proposals, though according to its dashboard proposals from California and Illinois are still awaiting additional approval from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
