Publications

NTIA issues this NOFO to describe the requirements under which it will award grants for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program (Program), authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Division F, Title I, Section 60102, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (November 15, 2021) (Infrastructure Act or Act) also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The BEAD Program provides new federal funding for NTIA to grant to all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (States), as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands (Territories), and in certain circumstances political subdivisions of these States and Territories, for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. Funding is distributed primarily based on the relative number of “unserved” locations (i.e., broadband-serviceable locations that lack access to Reliable Broadband Service at speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream and latency levels low enough to support real-time, interactive applications) in each State and Territory. Each State is eligible to receive a minimum of $100,000,000 and each Territory is eligible to receive a minimum of $25,000,000. See Section I of this NOFO for the full Program Description.

The Broadband, Equity, Access & Deployment Program (BEAD)1 provides federal funding to make grants to Eligible Entities for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption projects and activities. The following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are intended to clarify and provide guidance on information set forth in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on May 13, 2022. NTIA will update this document on a periodic basis as further questions arise. Newly added questions in this FAQ are indicated with an asterisk (*). Questions may be submitted to BEAD@ntia.gov.

These CSV templates are intended to support Eligible Entities in implementing the challenge results submission data format requirements. Additional guidance detailing the data formats of these files can be found in the BEAD Challenge Process Policy Notice.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), as the agency responsible for administering the BEAD program, provides herein additional guidance to inform the submission and execution of the Initial Proposal, including the design and implementation of the BEAD Eligible Entity challenge processes. This Policy Notice elaborates on, but does not replace, the BEAD Eligible Entity (States, territories, and the District of Columbia) requirements outlined in the BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that each Eligible Entity must adhere to for the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to approve its Initial Proposal. An Eligible Entity that received NTIA approval of Volume I of its BEAD Initial Proposal prior to the publication of this updated guidance may wish to modify its Volume I to reflect this updated guidance. Before taking such action, that Eligible Entity must contact its Federal Program Officer for direction.

The Frequently Asked Questions page is intended to clarify and provide guidance on information set forth in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on April 12, 2023. Following the release of this document, further questions may be submitted to InnovationFund@ntia.gov for consideration to include in future FAQ documents. The below FAQs are for informational purposes only and are intended solely to assist potential applicants in better understanding the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund and the application requirements set forth in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for this program. The FAQs do not and are not intended to supersede, modify, or otherwise alter applicable statutory or regulatory requirements, or the specific application requirements set forth in the NOFO. In all cases, statutory and regulatory mandates, and the requirements set forth in the NOFO, shall prevail over any inconsistencies contained in the below FAQs.

(NTIA) will host a webinar series in April through July 2021 in connection with the three new broadband grant programs authorized and funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021: The Broadband Infrastructure Program, the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program, and the Connecting Minority Communities Program. The webinars are designed to help prospective applicants understand the grant programs and to assist applicants to prepare high quality grant applications.

On March 19, 2021, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) published a Notice in the Federal Register announcing a webinar series in connection with the three new broadband grant programs authorized and funded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. This Notice announces changes to the dates on which the webinars will be held.