The University of Hawaii Broadband Office (UHBO) is offering guidance for organizations putting together applications for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The applications are due on the last day of January.
Hawaii was awarded $149 million in the program. There are eight RFPs, split between unserved/underserved locations and community anchor institutions. All have a 25% matching requirement.
One important date for Hawaii BEAD applications will occur before the deadline: The amendment with final locations is tentatively scheduled to be posted on December 27.
The application deadline will be followed by a proposal review period from February 1 to February 6. Issuance of “best and final offer (BAFO) Locations” is slated for February 14 and the contractor selection and award date is April 14, though it is subject to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approval.
Two important dates have already passed: The data of notice (when the RFP was issued) and the closing date for receipt of notice of intent to submit a proposal–already passed.
The selection criteria for Hawaii’s BEAD applications are points-based, with a total of 365 points possible:
- Minimal BEAD outlay: Up to 150 points (split between request funding amount and proposed match amount)
- Affordability: Up to 100 points
- Fair and safe labor practices: Up to 75 points
The secondary category of points for the Hawaii BEAD applications consists of:
- Speed deployment: Up to 30 points
- Speed of network: Up to 20 points
- Longevity: Up to 5 points
- Cost-effectiveness of future scalability: Up to 5 points
- Open access: Up to 10 points
Eligible applicants are cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, private companies, public or provide utilities, public utility districts, and local governments.
In August, Telecompetitor spoke to Garret Yoshimi, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at the University of Hawaii, which is administering the Hawaii BEAD applications. Speaking of access to all Hawaiians, Yoshimi said, “100% is hard to get to, but we’re going to make a really good try to get there.”
Additional information about Hawaii broadband, including links to state funding resources, previous awards made, state specific Telecompetitor coverage and more, can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
NRTC owns Pivot Group, which publishes Telecompetitor.
