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BEAD
Southern Bienville Parish, in Louisiana, now hosts the first BEAD-funded tower to deliver fixed wireless connectivity in the nation.
Edited by Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Nextlink Internet marked a historic milestone this month, activating the first federally funded Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program tower in the United States on May 1.
Situated in southern Bienville Parish, Louisiana, the tower is delivering gigabit-speed internet to homes and businesses across northwest Louisiana. It serves 104 BEAD locations in Bossier Parish through fixed wireless infrastructure, according to the Louisiana Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity, also known as ConnectLA.
Bienville Parish is located in Northwestern Louisiana and has a population near 13,000 across over 800 square miles, according to U.S. Census records.
ConnectLA, which announced the news last week, also says the achievement comes nearly four and a half years after the $42.45 billion BEAD initiative was established under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021.
Bill Baker, Nextlink’s CEO, expressed gratitude for the trust placed in the program and highlighted the significance of the launch.
“Six months ago, BEAD was a federal program that had spent four years and not connected a single home. Today, in Bossier Parish, that changes,” Baker said. “We are honored to be the company that first turned BEAD from a promise into a working tower.”
“Delivering results”
Governor Jeff Landry said the news was proof that Louisiana is following through on their promise to lead the nation.
The technology behind the milestone leverages Tarana’s ngFWA Gen 2 platform on the 3.5 GHz CBRS spectrum, supported by 6 GHz unlicensed spectrum, according to ConnectLA.
Meanwhile, Nextlink’s $18.5 million Louisiana BEAD subgrant, awarded through ConnectLA’s GUMBO 2.0 program, will enable the company to further bring gigabit-class fixed wireless service to 7,460 unserved or underserved locations across the state, ConnectLA said.
Overall, Nextlink plans to expand its footprint considerably, aiming for more than 600 Gen 2 sectors online by year-end 2026, covering over 317,000 locations.
NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth praised the state’s progress and their expedited timeline, spanning just six months from approval to live service.
“Thanks to technology neutrality, real competition, and skin in the game, the BEAD program is accelerating broadband buildout and delivering results,” she said. “
Some AI tools assisted in the crafting of this report.
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