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California wants to spend a larger share of their BEAD allocation than many other states, as outlined in their unveiled final BEAD proposal.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

The familiar phrase “it’s your money, use it when you need it,” once featured in a prolific ad campaign by J.G. Wentworth, could sum up California’s approach to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

This month, California became the last state to release their final BEAD proposal. As was reported by Broadband Breakfast, California is looking to use a larger proportion ($1.5 billion) of their BEAD allocation “than almost any other state.”

In total, California was allocated $1.86 billion under the program, a $42.45 billion push to expand internet access in America passed by Congress in 2021.

California is also among the states that has picked low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite to serve over 40% of underserved eligible BEAD locations, according to PCMag.com.

They report Amazon is on track to get over $100 million in California for over 90,000 locations, while Starlink is on track to get over $60 million.

Maps of preliminarily awarded BEAD applications that were submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are also available online, offering detailed breakdowns by region.

The CPUC has served as the administrator of BEAD funds in the state.

Previously, California had been delayed in publishing their final proposal.

“On November 5, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) instructed the CPUC to delay publishing its final proposal for public comment,” CPUC’s website states.

Dozens of states and territories have recently been added to the list of eligible entities to win NTIA approval for their BEAD plans.

States to win recent approvals from NTIA have included Texas, West Virginia, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio.

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