TIA CEO: BEAD hinges on workforce and waivers

Workforce and waivers. Those were two of the key themes and indeed the potential stumbling blocks for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program deployments, said TIA CEO Dave Stehlin. Now that the US government has issued a waiver for its Middle Mile grant program, the prospect of forthcoming relief for the BEAD program seems more promising. The waivers in question relate to Buy American requirements associated with the Middle Mile and BEAD programs. These specify that materials used for grant-funded projects contain at least 55% domestic content. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), asked the Department of Commerce (DoC) to waive these requirements for the Middle Mile program in September 2022. That request was granted in April of 2023. The waiver will apply to Middle Mile grant awards made between March 1, 2023, and March 1, 2024, and be effective “for the period of performance” specified by those awards. Equipment covered includes broadband routing gear, access and aggregation switching kit, microwave backhaul equipment, fiber transport materials and optical line terminals, undersea cable gear, and telemetry switches and routers.