Nextlink Claims First Activation of BEAD Tower

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On May 1, Nextlink Internet activated what it is calling “the first tower in the nation funded by the federal BEAD program.” The site is located in southern Bienville Parish, LA, bringing service to 104 BEAD locations in the area. It is designed to deliver gigabit internet speeds and higher to homes and businesses across northwest Louisiana via fixed wireless infrastructure.

Nextlink says the activation is the first time households have service available via BEAD-funded broadband infrastructure anywhere in the United States, four and a half years after the $42.45 billion program was created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021. It also makes Louisiana the first state to convert BEAD funding into live infrastructure, the company says, adding to a string of national firsts the state has claimed under the Landry Administration and the NTIA’s restructured program. 

This tower is one part of an $18.5 million Louisiana BEAD subgrant to Nextlink that is designed to deliver gigabit-class fixed wireless infrastructure to 7,460 unserved and underserved locations across Louisiana, awarded through ConnectLA’s GUMBO 2.0 program. Nextlink is deploying Tarana ngFWA Gen 2 technology over 3.5 GHz CBRS spectrum, the same architecture the company says it has scaled to over 350 live sectors nationwide.

The Louisiana Governor’s office said the path to the first BEAD activation has been the fastest in the country, offering the following timeline:

  • November 7, 2025 — first state to receive NTIA Final Proposal approval under the Benefit of the Bargain rules
  • January 17, 2026 — first state to sign BEAD subgrant agreements with broadband providers
  • February 18, 2026 — first state to disburse BEAD infrastructure dollars
  • April 30, 2026 — first state to clear federal NEPA approvals for BEAD construction
  • May 1, 2026 — first state with a live, in-service BEAD-funded tower

“Six months ago, BEAD was a federal program that had spent four years and not connected a single home,” said Nextlink Co-Founder and CEO Bill Baker. “Today, in Bossier Parish, that changes. Our deployment is proof that when Washington trusts technology and trusts the states, rural Americans get connected fast. We are honored to be the company that first turned BEAD from a promise into a working tower, and grateful to Governor Landry, Administrator Roth, ConnectLA, and the people of Bossier Parish for letting us be part of it.”