South Carolina Shrinks BEAD Program by 50 Percent

The State of South Carolina announced it has reduced the scope of its BEAD broadband program after completing hundreds of projects with existing state and federal funding. The South Carolina Broadband Office said eight of the original 16 BEAD projects will now be funded with non-BEAD resources, while agreements have been signed for four of the remaining eight projects.

Since 2021, the state has funded 277 broadband projects, with 83 percent already complete. Only about 19,000 locations, less than 1 percent statewide, remain to be served through the BEAD program, which will use about $35.8 million in federal funding. Construction is expected to begin in late 2026 and conclude by 2030.

“With careful stewardship of our existing state and federal funds, we’ve been able to minimize the need for BEAD funds while simultaneously accelerating construction for our citizens. The end of our digital divide is now clearly in sight,” said Jim Stritzinger, Director of the SCBBO.