Today's big news is that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved 18 Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program Final Proposals. As a reminder, we've been tracking what those proposals looked like when they were submitted to the NTIA. In the coming days, we'll be examining the final final (Is that what we should call them?) BEAD plans to see what changes were made during the approval process. Louisiana is the only state so far that now has access to its funds soon. As for the other 17 approved BEAD Final Proposals, each is in the process of being approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

For now, here is a quick look at the proposals the 18 states and territories that won approval today.

Louisiana

Louisiana was the second state to release its Draft Final Proposal, publishing the plan on August 8. Louisiana's Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity (ConnectLA) found 124,486 locations, including 3,356 CAIs, eligible for $498,296,587 in BEAD support. The state was allocated over $1.3 billion in BEAD funds, meaning Louisiana may have over $860 million to use for non-deployment activities (such as making internet service more affordable) or the state may be returning that money to NTIA to help fund deployment in other states.

Louisiana's estimate of eligible Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) in the Draft Final Proposal decreased by over 15,000––Louisiana's Initial Proposal Volume 2 estimated 139,000 locations would be served through the BEAD Program. On the technology side, 78.1% of these locations will be served by fiber broadband networks, 8.5% by LEO, 5.1% by cable, and 5.7% by fixed wireless.

Once a state or territory receives its approved proposal from NTIA and NIST, it has thirty days to sign off on that proposal, and once it does, it begins receiving BEAD funds immediately. Louisiana is the only state that has signed its proposal so far, allowing ConnectLA to access BEAD funds to begin delivering broadband to its constituents.

According to ConnectLA Executive Director Veneeth Iyengar, Louisiana's results were approved with no significant changes following some back-and-forth between ConnectLA, NTIA, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding some small clarifications and cleanup. Iyengar says that BEAD funding should reach the awarded parties in Louisiana by the end of 2025.

Wyoming

The Wyoming Broadband Office (WBO) released its Draft Final Proposal on August 22, and the public comment period closed on August 29. In its draft plan, WBO set out to close Wyoming's digital divide using a little over half ($198 million, or 57%) of its BEAD allocation of $348 million. Wyoming's proposal identifies almost 39,000 eligible locations to be connected using BEAD funds, whereas in its 2024 Initial Proposal Volume II, WBO identified almost 60,000 un- and underserved locations.

Forty percent of WBO's BEAD allocation will go to low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology. The remaining awards are a third (33%) for fiber and just over a quarter (27%) for fixed wireless.

Iowa

The Iowa Department of Management plans to spend $221 million of its $415 million BEAD allocation on broadband deployment, per its Draft Final Proposal released August 28. Iowa lists 42,933 eligible locations and 72 CAIs in its draft proposal. The Department of Management intends to submit waiver requests for the 25% non-federal match requirement for some projects.

The state plans to fund fiber broadband (51% of awards), fixed wireless (41%), and LEO satellite (9%) deployments. Telecompetitor reports that Iowa has both an identifiable big winner—Mediacom, which will receive about nine times as much as the second-largest awardee—and one of the longest lists of awardees of any state, thanks to Iowa’s thriving landscape of rural broadband providers.

American Samoa

The American Samoa Department of Commerce (ASDOC) released its Draft Final Proposal on August 29 and closed the comment period on September 4. In its proposal, ASDOC emphasized that BEAD funding is critical for American Samoa, where geographic isolation, high deployment costs, and infrastructure challenges have historically limited broadband availability. With a total BEAD allocation of $37 million, ASDOC's Benefit of the Bargain-round final proposal awards almost $20 million, leaving around $16 million for non-deployment (such as adoption).

American Samoa lists 7,653 eligible locations across the territory. These locations will be served primarily by fiber (94%) and a small portion by LEO satellite service (6%).

Georgia

The Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) released the state's Draft Final Proposal on August 25. Georgia's BEAD allocation was more than $1.3 billion, yet the new BEAD proposal awards just $309 million. This means that Georgia may be leaving nearly $1 billion in funding on the table.

Georgia's eligible locations under this plan total almost 120,000, with 45 eligible community anchor institutions (CAIs). GTA's proposal awards funding to serve 76 percent of eligible locations with fiber, 11 percent with LEO satellite, and 12 percent with HFC.

Arkansas

ARConnect, the State Broadband Office of Arkansas, released the state's Draft Final Proposal on August 22. Arkansas had provisionally selected 23 internet service providers (ISPs) to bring affordable, reliable high-speed internet to over 77,000 homes and businesses and 1,500 CAIs. The proposal envisions using $308 million in BEAD funding, or 30 percent of the state’s $1 billion BEAD allocation.

Arkansas includes a diverse array of technologies in its final proposal. ARConnect plans to support networks employing fiber (73.7%), LEO (16.2%), cable (3.2%), and fixed wireless (6.9%).

Delaware

On August 25, the Delaware Broadband Office (DBO) released its Draft Final Proposal for public comment, with a comment deadline of September 2. Delaware was allocated $107 million in BEAD funding; this proposal plans to use only $13 million.

DBO counts 4,739 locations statewide as eligible for BEAD funding, about a thousand fewer than earlier estimates of BEAD-eligible locations. Delaware's BEAD funding will go to fiber (80%) and hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC) (20%) broadband infrastructure deployment, and to internet service providers Verizon and Comcast.

Guam

The Guam Office of Infrastructure Policy & Development (OIPD) submitted its Final Proposal in September. In its draft plan, OIPD awards $4 million in deployment funds, a very small portion of the territory's total BEAD allocation of over $156 million.

OIPD plans to connect 1,345 eligible locations and 175 community anchor institutions (CAIs) using these funds. According to Guam's draft final proposal, the number of eligible locations was reduced by approximately 86 percent following NTIA's June 6 Policy Restructuring Notice and the Benefit of the Bargain Round. The new set of identified unserved locations will be served by fiber broadband deployment, with the exception of two locations that will receive low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite service.

Maine

The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) aims to connect over 23,000 eligible locations. MCA released its Draft Final Proposal on August 22.

In MCA's 2023 Initial Proposal Volume II, the state listed over 75,000 un- and underserved locations (combined) as eligible for BEAD funding. As of January 2025, the state had adjusted its BEAD plan to connect 29,000 locations and 3,000 CAIs. The state plans to use $48.3 million of its $272 million BEAD funding allocation (around 17%) to connect the unserved and underserved locations. Maine does not plan to use BEAD funding to connect community anchor institutions.

MCA lists fiber as the leading technology to be employed (84.8%), followed by LEO satellite (14.9%) and cable (0.3%).

In a press release today from the Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), MCA stated it is currently awaiting confirmation on how the state can spend the remaining $200 million of its original BEAD allocation and is working in partnership with Maine’s federal delegation and NTIA to better understand potential eligible uses and timelines for decision-making.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire's Draft Final Proposal for BEAD was released on August 26 by the state's Office of Broadband Initiatives, and the public comment period closed on September 2. New Hampshire's total BEAD funding allocation is almost $197 million. Following the Benefit of the Bargain BEAD round, the state plans to use just $19 million––less than 10 percent of its funds.

Just over 5,100 eligible locations will be connected to high-speed internet using New Hampshire's BEAD funding. They'll mostly be served by fiber broadband (68%), with some to be served by LEO satellite (22%) and HFC (11%). 

Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands

In its Draft Final Proposal, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' Office of Broadband and Policy Development (BPD) reported over 10,600 locations (about the same as its earlier estimates), including 39 CAIs, eligible for BEAD funding.

Allocated more than $80 million in BEAD funds, BPD cut its spending down to $31 million in the Benefit of the Bargain round, meaning $49 million in funding is available for non-deployment uses. BPD will connect 100% of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with fiber broadband service.

Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) Draft Final Proposal includes funding awards accounting for $7.2 million of the state's $144 million in BEAD funding, which comes out to almost five percent of the state's total funding amount. Connecticut lists 724 eligible locations and 1,066 CAIs.

DEEP plans to connect those locations using fiber broadband (78%) and HFC (22%). The state's funding will go to two companies: The Southern New England Telephone Company ($6.5 million) and Comcast ($643,299).

[The Southern New England Telephone Company, often known as SNET, was a prominent Connecticut-based telephone company that established the world's first telephone exchange and telephone book in 1878. After decades of operating as the dominant phone service in Connecticut, SNET was acquired by SBC Communications in 1998 and later became part of AT&T before its operations were sold to Frontier Communications in 2014.]

South Carolina

The South Carolina Broadband Office (SCBBO) created the state's Draft Final Proposal, which is available for public comment until September 26. South Carolina was allocated more than $551 million for BEAD-related activities. In SCBBO's new plan, the state will spend only $41 million of that amount on broadband deployment.

SCBBO identified over 20,137 eligible locations for this funding and 343 CAIs and noted its successful investments of American Rescue Plan Act funding for broadband projects. The technology breakdown is expected to be 49% for LEO satellite, 47% for fiber broadband, and 3% for hybrid-fiber coaxial (HFC).

North Dakota

Per North Dakota’s Draft Final Proposal, the state will deploy broadband networks to 301 locations (no community anchor institutions). North Dakota’s BEAD allocation is $130 million, but the state estimates that it will only use about $6.8 million for BEAD broadband deployment (subgrantees BEK Communications Cooperative and Midco will provide roughly $2.9 million in matching funds). The BEK project will bring fiber to 295 locations. Midco will deploy a hybrid fiber-coaxial cable solution to 6 locations.

North Dakota assessed all aspects of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to determine whether a proposed project demonstrated the ability to support current and future connectivity needs of all North Dakotans. The evaluation process focused on the following dimensions: speed, latency, reliability, consistency in service, and scalability. Applications were assessed on the ability to meet current performance standards and support future growth, including the deployment of advanced services.

In 2023, North Dakota’s Broadband Program Director Brian Newby estimated that approximately 97% of locations in the state were already served by the speeds required by the BEAD program. Director Newby said that means there are less than 5,000 locations remaining that need coverage. But even with so few locations to connect, Newby was concerned that the cost of connecting those locations would exceed the state's BEAD allocation.

Hawaii

The University of Hawai'i's Broadband Office (UHBO)––which is spearheading the BEAD portion of the state of Hawai'i's broader broadband initiative, Connect Kākou––released its Draft Final Proposal on August 27.

UHBO was awarded almost $150 million to connect the un- and underserved in the state of Hawai'i. This final proposal allocates $95 million of that funding towards broadband deployment projects, leaving over $53 million on the table. UHBO lists 7,128 eligible locations and 25 CAIs in its plan. The state of Hawai'i's BEAD proposal devotes the funding mostly to fiber broadband deployment (82%) and the remaining amount to LEO satellite deployment (8%).

Montana

ConnectMT, Montana's broadband office, released the state's Draft Final Proposal on August 22. Montana was allocated over $628 million in BEAD funds. According to its final proposal, ConnectMT will only be using about half of that––$308 million––to connect un- and underserved locations. ConnectMT's final proposal lists almost 72,000 locations as eligible for BEAD funding, including 234 CAIs.

Montana currently has the highest percentage of LEO funding allocations. ConnectMT aims to connect 65% of households using LEO satellite service, 20.2% with fiber, and 14.8% with fixed wireless.

Rhode Island

ConnectRI, a program of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation, released its Draft Final Proposal on August 27. Rhode Island's plan awards just $16 million of its $108 million in BEAD funding to internet service providers who will connect the state's 2,622 eligible locations.

The technology breakdown for ConnectRI's draft proposal includes around 80% for fiber broadband, 15% for fixed wireless, and four percent for LEO satellite. Over $13.5 million will go to TruAccess Networks, while Verizon will receive $2.4 million and SpaceX $171,000 for Starlink connections.

Virginia

The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) released its Draft Final Proposal on August 6, 2025, the first state or territory to do so. DCHD identified 83,778 eligible locations for funding and 4,445 eligible community anchor institutions (CAIs). Under Virginia's Initial Proposal Volume 2, there were an estimated 162,000 remaining unserved homes, businesses, and community anchors slated to be connected with BEAD Program funds.

Virginia's final proposal allocates $613,277,638 to connecting the nearly 84,000 locations to broadband networks. Virginia's BEAD allocation is $1,481,489,573. Nearly 80 percent (78.8%) of eligible locations will be served by fiber networks, 14.2% by low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite service, 5.6% by cable, and 1.4% by fixed wireless.

More Plans to Submit, and Even More to be Approved

53 of the 56 states and territories have submitted Final Proposals according to NTIA, and 38 states remain without approved plans. Once their plans are approved, and they sign the award amendment enabling them to access their funds, state broadband offices will finally be able to begin closing the digital divide for their residents.

More on BEAD Final Proposals

• Nearly all BEAD Final Proposals Submitted for Review
• Hello, it's BEAD Again
• Just More BEAD Plans
• BEAD BEAD BEAD, and More BEAD Plans
• States Finalize Their BEAD Proposals
• More BEAD Draft Final Proposals Are Released for Public Comment
• Benefit of the Bargain BEAD Proposals Roll In

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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