Broadband providers taking part in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program have increasingly found that a provisional award does not guarantee a signed contract. Among the companies that recently turned down BEAD funding, Astound is walking away from grants in both Texas and Oregon after determining that the projects no longer made financial sense.
Telecompetitor asked Astound Vice President of Regulatory Broadband and Community Relations Fred Maldonado to explain the company’s decisions.
Maldonado said Astound had submitted 33 BEAD applications in Texas, designed to form a single, contiguous fiber route extending from the company’s existing network into more than 30 counties. The state ultimately awarded only five of those applications, leaving Astound with counties sitting far from their existing footprint. “It regrettably became impossible to justify the expense to build to these counties,” Maldonado said.
Oregon presented a similar problem. Astound submitted 25 BEAD applications in the state and won 12, according to Maldonado, who said the resulting gaps in the network drove up construction costs. “The awarded areas were not close enough to Astound’s existing network to financially justify the build, so we regrettably had to decline,” he said.
Maldonado also highlighted how much time had elapsed between Astound’s BEAD application submissions and the final awards. During that stretch, costs rose considerably in every state where the company had applied, compounding the challenges created by the noncontiguous project areas.
Public records show the company forfeited about $166 million in provisional Texas awards and roughly $90.6 million of their Oregon award. Astound wasn’t alone in their decision, with other providers in both states — including Resound Networks in Texas and Siuslaw Broadband, Hunter Communications, and QLife in Oregon — also stepping away from portions of their awards.
Despite the setback, Maldonado said Astound remains committed to expanding broadband access in areas where they can build sustainably.
The interview follows an earlier conversation Telecompetitor had with Astound in October, when the company’s Senior Vice President of Operations Jared Sonne discussed their broader BEAD strategy and contract negotiations with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
During that conversation, Sonne said Astound has applied for BEAD funds in California. Astound is not prepared to discuss how declining awards in Oregon and Texas may affect their decisions in California.
