BEAD

States received lists of locations tentatively eligible for a new Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment funding round on November 13, 2026. The nine-month process may create future grant-funded work for broadband providers and infrastructure contractors, but participating locations, grant amounts, and solicitation details have not been identified.

California accepted $1.4 billion in BEAD funding while arguing that its grant terms are vague and do not override state law. NTIA says the executed award agreement is the entire agreement with the California Public Utilities Commission and excludes the state’s separate concerns letter, making the written terms central to program implementation.

NTIA’s BEAD true-up formula caps each state or territory’s remaining support using its approved Final Proposal’s average deployment cost per broadband serviceable location and the locations still eligible after challenges. Because these remaining locations are expected to be more expensive to reach, states may redirect funding from fiber toward fixed wireless and satellite, changing the mix of provider opportunities.