Washington and New Mexico Announce Benefit of the Bargain BEAD Results

Washington and New Mexico have released details about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program’s Benefit of the Bargain round. The Benefit of the Bargain Round incorporates guideline changes made in June as a result of a pause and reassessment of the $42.5 billion BEAD program. Washington received BEAD 555 applications from 29 eligible entities. Technologies include fiber, cable, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and licensed, licensed-by-rule, and unlicensed fixed wireless. The Washington State Department of Commerce said that 15 entities requested that their earlier BEAD applications be evaluated in the Benefit of the Bargain round. That resulted in 113 additional applications. The department also said that all 232 project areas received at least one application and 213 of those received more than one application. New Mexico’s Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) said that it received 42 applications asking for $675 million in funding in the Benefit of the Bargain phase. The state has received a total of 87 applications to bring service to more than 44,000 unserved locations.