Provider Associations Urge NTIA to Take a Strong Role in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program

Service provider associations are urging the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to take a strong role in implementing the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. The $42.5 billion program calls for each of the 50 states to make decisions about awarding rural broadband funding but directs NTIA to oversee the program. NTIA should require the states to thoroughly vet funding applicants, USTelecom said, going on to argue that “vetting processes and questions should be uniform” among the states so that the states have an “off the shelf” way to vet applicants. USTelecom also urged NTIA to “adopt standards and best practices at the national level, including quality of service standards, cybersecurity and supply chain best practices, and best practices for ensuring network reliability and resiliency.” In doing so, USTelecom said, “NTIA should leverage existing federal standards and practices.” The Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) also recommended a strong role for NTIA, arguing that “the opportunity we have here is simply too great for it to be undermined by lax processes which the NTIA can control from the BEAD program’s very inception.”