Alabama opened its application window on April 7 for pre-qualified broadband service providers (BSPs) applying for grants under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
The program is being administered in the state by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA).
Alabama has $1.4 billion to award for eligible projects, defined as qualifying last-mile broadband infrastructure to unserved (25/3 Mbps or less) and underserved (between 25/3 and 100/20 Mbps) locations. A 25% match is required of projects; up to 10 points are offered in the state’s selection criteria to proposals with a higher match.
The application cycle will close on May 22, 2025.
Eligible applicants include cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, private companies, public or private utilities, public utility districts, and local governments. Applicants must have been approved during the prequalification phase.
According to a funding alert from NRTC, Alabama will score its BEAD applications on the following criteria, with a maximum of 75 points. The criteria are the same for priority broadband projects and other projects, with the exception of the third point under the secondary criteria:
Primary criteria
- Minimal BEAD outlay (up to 40 points): Points awarded to projects within a certain percentage of cost model benchmark, up to 10 points for proposals with higher match
- Affordability (up to 20 points): Most affordable price for 1/1 Gbps service
- Fair labor practices (up to 15 points): Points awarded to applicants with no labor/employment violations and commitment to fair labor practices
Secondary criteria
- Speed of deployment (up to 1 points): Service available under four-years
- Community/local government/Tribal government support (up to 10 points): Points awarded based on extent of support documented
- For priority broadband projects: Percentage of unserved locations (up to 10 points): Points awarded to projects containing higher percentage of unserved locations
- For other projects, this factor is: Speed of network and other technical capabilities (up to 10 points): Points awarded based on speed of network and sufficient capacity (4 points), scalability (3 points), and cost-effective future upgrade and capital investment path (up to 3 points)
- Low-cost $30 per month residential service (up to 4 points) awarded for commitment to offer $30 per month service to low-income households
NRTC’s funding alert describes a wide variety of eligible costs, including but not limited to the construction, improvement, and/or acquisition of facilities and telecommunications equipment, including infrastructure for backhaul, middle and last-mile networks, and MDUs.
Additional information about Alabama broadband, including state funding resources, BEAD news, awards made, state-specific coverage, and more may be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
NRTC owns Pivot Group, which publishes Telecompetitor.
