BEAD Grant And Map Timing Announced

Key Points:

• The FCC has announced that it will release a pre-production draft of new nationwide broadband maps on November 18.
• State and tribal governments and other stakeholders will have until early January to challenge the new maps. Significant challenges are expected, and substantial revisions to the draft maps are likely.
• The new maps will pave the way for the allocation of $42 billion in funding for broadband infrastructure and deployment via the BEAD Program.
• The NTIA has announced that it will allocate BEAD state grant amounts no later than June 30, 2023.

Broadband Mapping and Challenge Process

Congress passed the Broadband DATA Act in 2020, directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to collect more granular data regarding broadband service availability in order to create a publicly accessible, nationwide map of fixed and mobile broadband availability. The new maps have been developed from data submitted by broadband providers