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.
The recent applicants are from eight internet service providers, five cooperatives, three Tribal entities and two LEO providers. When combined with surviving first-round applications, 20 entities have applied for 87 total projects based on several technologies.
In late May, the Washington State Broadband Office said there were 202 Round 2 applications for BEAD project areas that did not receive awards in Round 1, when 307 applications were received.
In late March, the OBAE said that 18 entities in New Mexico had submitted 66 applications for BEAD grants in the state. The amount requested is more than $719 million. That includes $258.2 million in proposed matching funds, which brings the total proposed budget to $976.2 million.
Additional information about broadband in New Mexico and Washington, including links to state funding resources, BEAD news, awards made, state-specific Telecompetitor coverage and more, can be found on the Broadband Nation webpages for the states: New Mexico | Washington
