The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has released a Policy Notice modifying and replacing certain requirements outlined in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Notice of Funding Opportunity. Specifically, NTIA has: (1) adopted a technology-neutral approach for the BEAD subgrantee selection process; (2) limited the BEAD labor and employment requirement; (3) required the use of an NTIA-developed tool to reduce the time required for broadband permitting; and (4) eliminated the “extraneous and burdensome obligations to conduct climate analyses.” States and territories have 90 days to implement such reforms in their subgrantee selection process.
Notably, NTIA has rescinded its approval of final spending plans from Louisiana, Delaware, and Nevada, which were approved under the Biden administration.
