Best Practices in BEAD Contracts

As the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approves states’ Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) Program Final Proposals, the end of the grantmaking process for this $42.45 billion program is near.  Over the coming years, states will face the new challenges of monitoring and compliance to ensure that all funded projects are completed successfully and on time.  However, one major hurdle remains to be crossed between approval and execution: ensuring that every provisional awardee signs a contract with the state that will allow construction to begin. It is not a foregone conclusion that every provisional awardee will in fact become a subgrantee: indeed, there is risk that provisional subgrantees may find the terms of the contract provided by the state too onerous to sign, walking away from potentially multimillion-dollar projects and leaving thousands of unserved or underserved Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) stranded. This Best Practices guide identifies four key areas states should address in their final contract language to enhance the opportunities for program success:

• Allowing for a single agreement to cover a subgrantee’s multiple project areas in the state,
• Encouraging compliance and remediation over undue enforcement and clawback,
• Adopting reasonable termination guidelines, and
• Qualifying non-compliance.