The NTIA has begun to accept applications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants, Inside Towers reported. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) shows a preference for fiber deployment, and wireless industry associations reacted.
“WIA supports NTIA and the Administration’s laudable goal to provide broadband for all. It is hard to reconcile the NOFO’s explicit preference for one broadband technology with the requirement in the law for technological neutrality,” says WIA President/CEO Jonathan Adelstein. “WIA strongly [backs] the support for workforce development and apprenticeship in the NOFO. To connect all Americans, we need to have a workforce in place with the skills to build and maintain broadband networks. We look forward to working with NTIA to ensure that the broadband workforce is developed to provide connectivity to everyone efficiently and cost-effectively.”
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, said the advocacy group and its over 1,100 members have routinely asserted that the effective, efficient deployment of broadband funds must be technology neutral. “As the BEAD Program money begins to flow to the states, it is imperative that broadband deployment be technology neutral – incorporating both fiber and wireless technologies such as fixed wireless, because we must use the technology that fits the unique geography and topography of each area and ensure that we are using taxpayer resources effectively and efficiently,” says President/CEO Todd Schlekeway.
Schlekeway adds: “It is also important to note that the bi-partisan Infrastructure Law included a technology neutral approach, which would allow the flexibility necessary to allow wireless providers an opportunity to compete for the funding. As this process moves towards the states, NATE is well positioned through our 50-state grassroots advocacy Wireless Industry Network program to continue to monitor progress and best shape the guidelines that will best serve to close the digital divide.”
The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association agrees that an adaptable, technologically neutral approach is the best way to realize the promise of the BEAD program. WISPA Chairman Todd Harpest says the organization is encouraged the NOFO gives states latitude to meet their unique needs in delivering broadband. “WISPA’s members provide broadband services and solutions to millions across the country, using fixed wireless, fiber, and hybrid network delivery methods.”
WISPA asked that BEAD funding for any particular state, “should not be determined until after the FCC can release updated, more accurate broadband data maps designating ‘unserved’ and ‘underserved’ areas. WISPA is pleased that the NOFO requires states to engage in transparent and open-competitive funding procedures, including challenge processes,” adds Harpest.
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association, welcomes the fiber emphasis. “We need to get this right—and I am encouraged by the notice’s focus on prioritizing fiber projects capable of delivering high-quality services for decades to come, along with detailed expectations for demonstrated capabilities and performance and a strong indication that providers of all kinds should be placed on equal footing when it comes to seeking funds,” said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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