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A recent post on Pots and Pans by CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson gives some key insights into BEAD 2.0.

By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Tennessee has seen a big spike in applications during BEAD’s new “Benefit of the Bargain” round compared to the program’s initial application phase.

That takeaway was one of several in a recent post published by Pots and Pans, authored by CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson.

“The low-orbit satellite companies Starlink and Kuiper bid throughout the state,” Dawson wrote. “Starlink didn’t submit any applications in the first round but bid almost everywhere in the new BEAD round.”

The Benefit of the Bargain Round currently gives states and territories until September 4 to submit new final proposals.

NTIA’s website describes the Benefit of the Bargain Round as a round of subgrantee selection that “will ensure taxpayers receive the greatest benefit from their investment in broadband infrastructure.”

According to NTIA, the round will allow all technologies to compete for BEAD funds on a level playing field.

Another takeaway Dawson reported was regarding “surprisingly few proposals for fixed wireless technology.”

“Part of the reason for this might be the mountainous and hilly nature of much of Tennessee,” Dawson wrote, “but there are plenty of areas in the central and western parts of the state where wireless will work well.”

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