News
Alaska and Washington are the latest states to join the parade of states and territories to get approval on their final BEAD proposal.
By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Both Alaska and Washington earned approval on their final proposal under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) last week.
The approvals, now reflected in NTIA’s BEAD dashboard tracker, leave only four eligible entities awaiting approvals for their final BEAD proposals: California, Oklahoma, Washington D.C., and Illinois.
The news was reflected in an update on the website for the Alaska Broadband Office.
“This moves Alaska’s program to next be reviewed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where NIST will develop Alaska’s Grant Agreement before providing formal approval to the State of Alaska via a Notice of Award (NOA) Amendment,” the update stated. “Subgrantees will be notified when the Alaska Broadband Office receives the NOA Amendment.”
Officials in Washington also touted the news with an update of their own, calling it a significant milestone in the state’s efforts to close the digital divide.
Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) Director Jordan Arnold said the approval is a transformative moment for the state.
“For rural and underserved communities, internet access is a lifeline to economic opportunity, education, health care, and the modern world,” Arnold said.
According to the Washington State Department of Commerce, there are 238 BEAD project areas in underserved or unserved locations across the state.
“The next step is beginning contracting and construction on the projects, which include fiber, fixed wireless and low-earth satellite,” the state’s release announced.
