Louisiana first to sign BEAD grant agreements, advancing broadband deployment statewide

Louisiana has taken another major step toward statewide high-speed internet access, becoming the first state in the country to sign Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program grant agreements with internet service providers. The first BEAD grant agreements in Louisiana include 39,853 locations to be built by national and local providers. These agreements build on Louisiana’s ongoing progress in expanding broadband access across the state. Currently, 93 percent of Louisiana households and businesses are served, and the state remains on pace to achieve statewide high-speed internet access by 2028, two years ahead of the federal 2030 goal. In November 2025, Louisiana became the first state in the nation to receive federal approval of its final BEAD proposal, clearing the way to deploy $1.36 billion in federal broadband funding. That approval positioned Louisiana to move quickly from planning to execution and begin delivering BEAD-funded projects on the ground.