The U.S. Digital Divide Has Narrowed by At Least 57% Since 2023. What Does That Mean for BEAD?

With the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Challenge Process largely complete in each of the 50 states, most states have released datasets listing which locations are eligible for funding following challenges from local governments, nonprofits, and internet service providers. Given the rigorous nature of these challenge processes, the data provides the most complete, accurate, and granular look to date of broadband availability across the country. The Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute has aggregated challenge process results for 46 states to count remaining unserved and underserved locations (data from the remaining 4 states—NJ, NC, OH, TX—is not yet publicly available). We then used those data to calculate average funding per eligible BEAD location that was available to states at the beginning of the BEAD program and how much that amount has increased as the number of eligible locations has decreased. The ACLP’s analysis shows a near-ubiquitous decrease in eligible locations when compared to the latest Federal Communications Commission data and to FCC data used by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to calculate BEAD funding allocations. Across these 46 states, the total number of BEAD-eligible locations has decreased by 57 percent. 

1. Given these significant and ongoing changes to the contours of the digital divide, are there adequate procedures in place to ensure that BEAD funds are not used to support widescale overbuilding?
2. With a narrower digital divide, has the role of LEO satellite in BEAD changed?
3. The data appear to indicate that there is a higher likelihood that more states will have BEAD funding leftover after addressing remaining eligible locations. What should be done with those funds?