States Should Act Now on BEAD Non-Deployment Funds

By Patrick Halley, President and CEO, WIA

It’s critical that States do not wait to think about how they will use federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) non-deployment dollars, and they need to think big. This was the key take away from WIA’s BEAD 2.0 conference last week, the first-of-its-kind forum specifically focused on bringing the public and private sectors together to think creatively about how to optimize the use of BEAD non-deployment funds.

BEAD is primarily a deployment program focused on ensuring a fixed broadband connection is available at every home, business and community anchor institution. With $42.5 billion available – building on numerous prior state and federal broadband funding programs – the reality is that many states will have BEAD dollars remaining for “non-deployment” activities. One key takeaway from the BEAD 2.0 conference was that a lot of states are already thinking creatively about how to use non-deployment funding and NTIA is indicating it will be flexible about how such funds can be utilized, as long as proposals are thoughtful and rigorous in how they are designed. Bottom line – states should start working now on detailed plans for non-deployment funds to be included in final proposals submitted to NTIA next year.

Several States know they will have significant remaining BEAD funds after all serviceable households have been connected (potentially to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars) and many more believe they will likely find themselves with some funding available once they conclude the deployment bidding phase. With such significant funding available, a state that only has one or two percent of BEAD funding remaining for non-deployment could still be looking at a substantial amount of money.

I recently had a chance to talk with South Carolina Broadband Office Director Jim Stritzinger to hear about his State’s exciting plans for non-deployment funds. Last week, we were pleased to work with Jim and partner with the Carolinas Wireless Association to host several State Broadband Leaders, NTIA, and thought leaders from across various industries to discuss this next phase of BEAD. More than 150 participants joined us in Myrtle Beach, SC to begin the conversation about using these non-deployment dollars to expand mobile coverage for resiliency, building out workforce development programs, and using connectivity to increase access to important public services like telehealth, education and public safety.

NTIA’s Evan Feinman, Director of the BEAD program, keynoted the conference. Mr. Feinman highlighted that while last-mile infrastructure deployment is crucial, there’s also a significant opportunity to use BEAD non-deployment funds to address lingering connectivity-related issues for States and their residents. For example, States could use remaining funds for network reliability and resiliency (including through expanding wireless service to unserved/underserved areas), workforce development, digital literacy, telehealth, and other initiatives. He urged States to think creatively and rigorously about their broadband-related programs and craft their plans for non-deployment funding to their unique needs.

Mobility for Resiliency

Network reliability and resiliency, especially in the wake of disasters, is an important consideration for the use of non-deployment funds. “There are a lot of different ways to approach resiliency,” Feinman said. “Some of that’s hardening existing networks. Some of that is … additional modalities like wireless connectivity and fixed wireless and mobile. All of that’s on the table.”

Panelists from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Vertical Bridge, Ookla, T-Mobile, and Verizon agreed that adding additional coverage is important for redundancy, but capacity of the network can be just as important for communities. “It’s not just about [coverage] those white spaces… to the extent that people live there, it’s important for hikers and for public safety. But also, capacity is going to be a really big issue,” said Verizon’s Vice President of Federal Government Affairs Chris Debosier. For example, ensuring sufficient wireless capacity along evacuation routes or evolving wireless networks to handle growing populations are important considerations.

Building a Broadband Workforce

Under the BEAD program, States are required to propose how they will address workforce needs. One important way to address broadband workforce development is through a sector partnership. Panelists from The Ohio State University, the National Center for Urban Solutions, Tri County Tower, WIA and Youngstown State University discussed the success of Ohio’s 5G Broadband State Sector Partnership, where WIA serves as an intermediary coordinating with both industry and academia to build a skilled workforce for the State.

Panelists discussed how a sector partnership can help a State take a wholistic approach to meeting the needs of workforce development by addressing both near-term BEAD needs and long-term network operations needs in the face of ever evolving technologies. Lindsey Ekstrand, Director, Workforce Education Programs for Youngstown State University, spoke to the value of workforce training offered through the Ohio sector partnership. “The skills of the industry are evolving very quickly and so the solution to this is these industry-related and recognized credential programs,” said Ekstrand. “We can build technical skills with individuals fairly quickly and get them into jobs. So, for someone seeking a 2-year or 4-year degree, it’s a complement to their degree. They’re graduating and they can be hands-on in the job… we heard [this need] from our industry partners.”

Increasing Access to Critical Services

Panelists from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, ExcelinED, the Medical University of South Carolina Center, the State of South Carolina and the USDA South Carolina Farm Service Agency touched on the idea of using broadband as a springboard for access to additional or improved public services such as telehealth, public safety or education. For example, with a shortage of primary care providers and a concentration of providers in the urban areas, telehealth for residents living in rural South Carolina can make all the difference.

“How can we transform healthcare access to health care in South Carolina and beyond? By really getting at raising the bar and level of access to Internet and into homes across the State,” said Emily Warr, Administrator, Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center. “How could we reimagine how we offer healthcare into [rural] homes and get access to biometric data, for example, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? And how would that change the way we manage and promote wellness in homes?”

Plan Now for Non-Deployment Funds

At the end of the day, participants in the BEAD 2.0 conference all agreed – now is the time to have these conversations. States must begin thoughtfully planning today how they will use BEAD non-deployment funds. Waiting until initial deployment is complete is too late.

For additional information on WIA’s BEAD 2.0 conference and how to best maximize connectivity using BEAD non-deployment dollars, visit BEAD.WIA.org.