Awards announced, agreements executed, milestones reached — monitored daily across all 56 state and territory programs, AI-verified against official sources.
At the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum on August 18, 2026, AT&T and Lumen policy executives said supply chain costs are rising and permitting remains a challenge as broadband and AI-driven network expansion compete for capacity. NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth had told lawmakers earlier in the summer that she does not plan to waive BEAD's requirement that funded fiber be American-made, even as some state broadband officials, including in Minnesota, have said they would support waiver requests to keep BEAD projects viable amid rising costs.
Bree Maki, executive director of Minnesota's Office of Broadband Development, said at the Mountain Connect conference in Denver that her office would support waivers to increase grant support if they made sense, even without a high chance of NTIA approval. She suggested NTIA could tap BEAD surplus funds to help address rising deployment costs and reach remaining unserved locations.
Hawaiian Telcom has signed a finalized BEAD subgrant agreement with the state of Hawaii worth $34 million, including a $5 million match, to bring broadband service to 5,800 homes. The signed contract moves Hawaii's BEAD program from award stage into active deployment for one of its providers.
Indiana electric cooperative Paulding Putnam has received a BEAD Program contract totaling $13,174,476 in federal funding, matched by $10,350,060 in cooperative investment, to deploy fiber-to-the-home broadband to 1,464 eligible locations across Allen, Adams, DeKalb, and Noble counties. The Indiana Broadband Office celebrated the milestone with cooperative and regional leaders, with construction expected to begin in spring 2027 and most locations connected by spring 2029.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration informed state broadband offices that they lack authority to unilaterally change BEAD subgrant agreements already signed with providers. The statement follows NTIA's prior request that states reduce awards made to satellite broadband providers based on new deployment data.
Federal regulators informed state broadband offices that they lack authority to unilaterally change BEAD contracts already signed with ISPs. The guidance follows NTIA's prior request that states reduce awards made to satellite broadband providers based on new deployment data.
At the Mountain Connect conference in Denver, Minnesota broadband director Bree Maki and Georgia broadband director Sarah Baska described rising provider costs and a project refusal, and said NTIA should let states use surplus BEAD funds to cover cost overruns. A related Broadband Breakfast opinion piece cited provider pullouts in Oregon, Nebraska, and Texas as further evidence, echoing calls for NTIA to release portions of the roughly $21 billion in remaining BEAD funds, a figure NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth has separately confirmed as the expected savings amount.
NTIA told state broadband offices they cannot unilaterally change BEAD contracts already signed with ISPs, per an updated FAQ document dated Aug. 3, 2026. The guidance follows NTIA's request that states reduce satellite broadband awards, but confirms any reduction to SpaceX or Amazon location counts requires the provider's agreement since executed subgrant agreements carry reliance interests. States including Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Nebraska and Virginia had signed satellite contracts covering a combined 105,111 locations in their approved plans.
The Texas Broadband Development Office paused all BEAD disbursements to subgrantees starting Monday, citing an ongoing audit into alleged favoritism toward Starlink. Two senior broadband officials were reportedly dismissed shortly before the hold, which state officials say will remain in place until further notice.
The Texas Broadband Development Office paused all BEAD disbursements to subgrantees starting Monday, citing an ongoing audit with no set completion date. The hold followed the dismissal of two senior broadband officials and allegations that the office showed favoritism toward Elon Musk's Starlink.
The Texas Broadband Development Office placed a temporary hold on all BEAD disbursements after being accused of favoritism toward Elon Musk's Starlink in subgrantee selection, prompting lawmakers to announce an audit. The hold on billions in federal funds began Tuesday and remains in effect pending the audit's outcome.
Texas has paused disbursements of billions of dollars in federal BEAD funding after two senior broadband office officials were dismissed and an audit was launched. The Texas Broadband Development Office told subgrantees the hold took effect Monday and will remain 'until further notice' with no completion date set for the audit.
The Texas Broadband Development Office placed a temporary hold on all disbursements tied to the state's roughly $1.2 billion BEAD allocation after allegations surfaced that the office favored SpaceX's Starlink in grant awards. Lawmakers have ordered an audit and the state's new comptroller has launched an internal review, telling subgrantees no further action is required for now.
NTIA approved California's BEAD Final Proposal on July 17, 2026, leaving Illinois as the only state still awaiting NTIA and NIST sign-off on its final proposal. California's approval unlocks up to $1.86 billion in federal funding, but the CPUC still must act on a revised resolution before subgrant agreements can be signed, and permitting and pole-attachment disputes continue to slow construction nationally.
The Office of the Governor and the University of Hawaii finalized a $34 million contract with Hawaiian Telcom to bring fiber-optic broadband to about 5,800 underserved homes. The move signals Hawaii has moved from planning into active BEAD construction.
The NTIA BEAD Progress Dashboard confirms that all 56 states and territories have submitted Final Proposals, 55 have received NTIA approval, and 53 have signed and returned their award agreements, finalizing the grant process. This milestone allows those Eligible Entities to move forward with subgrantee contracting and construction readiness activities.
A GAO report released July 23, 2026 (GAO-26-109100), 'Combating Fraud: Managing Risks in Federally Funded, State-Administered Programs,' identified BEAD's $16.9 billion federal obligations as part of a broader review of 20 large state-administered programs vulnerable to fraud due to their multi-layered funding structures, alongside Medicaid, SNAP, and disaster assistance programs. GAO noted it has not directly assessed BEAD's fraud-risk management since the program only began sending funds to states in fiscal year 2023, and it identified no adjudicated fraud cases tied specifically to BEAD.
ConnectLA, Louisiana's Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity, released two new toolkits, a Deployment Toolkit and an Excavation Toolkit, to support coordination and communication as broadband construction scales statewide through the GUMBO 2.0 program. The Deployment Toolkit provides construction lifecycle references and community engagement materials for stakeholders, while the Excavation Toolkit offers guidance on Louisiana's Dig Law for subgrantees. The release supports Louisiana's $1.355 billion BEAD-funded buildout, which is currently in its construction phase.
A report from New York Law School's Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute finds the median BEAD terrestrial project will require about 11 permits from eight different permitting authorities, with 95% of projects needing at least one federal permit. The researchers suggest states could use leftover 'non-deployment' BEAD funds to boost local permitting capacity, an idea NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth has spoken favorably about, though formal guidance on those funds remains pending.
Virginia's Office of Broadband stripped RiverStreet Networks of multiple VATI (ARPA-funded) broadband contracts in July 2026 after years of missed deadlines, leaving more than 30,000 rural customers without promised connections. State broadband director confirmed RiverStreet's separate $44 million BEAD award is also in jeopardy, with a corrective action plan issued and a determination pending.
The Office of the Governor and University of Hawai'i announced Hawai'i has finalized a $34 million BEAD contract with Hawaiian Telcom to deliver fiber-optic service to about 5,800 unserved homes. This is part of a broader $149.5 million BEAD deployment targeting roughly 7,000 unserved and underserved locations statewide, with about 82% to be served via fiber.
NRECA CEO Jim Matheson told Telecompetitor that of the 62 electric cooperatives that initially qualified for BEAD funding, nine have since dropped out, citing a mix of frustrations including delays, rising costs, and new pole attachment requirements. Under NTIA's revised BEAD terms, a cooperative that accepts BEAD funding for any part of its territory becomes subject to FCC pole attachment rates across its entire service area, a reversal of the long-standing federal exemption for electric co-ops.
Virginia's broadband office has signed BEAD subgrantee agreements with 19 providers, with the remaining three expected to sign by Aug. 16, 2026. The move marks continued progress in Virginia's transition from award selection to active grant execution.
Virginia's Office of Broadband has executed BEAD subgrantee agreements with 19 internet service providers, including SpaceX, Verizon, Breezeline, and Brightspeed, with signed contracts covering about 64,000 locations as part of the state's over $545 million BEAD program targeting roughly 85,000 homes and businesses. The remaining three providers, Amazon, Comcast, and All Points Broadband, were expected to sign by August 16 after taking on locations that Wi-Fiber declined to serve for its awarded 1,800 locations.
Minnesota's Office of Broadband Development executed its first BEAD subgrantee agreement on July 30, 2026, with East Central Energy for a fiber project expected to connect 3,750 locations between Minneapolis and Duluth. The state also approved the project's environmental review, and officials say 93 more contracts must be executed by October 2026.
ConnectLA announced that its GUMBO 1.0 broadband program, funded by the U.S. Treasury's Capital Projects Fund, has surpassed $100 million in infrastructure payments to internet service providers, having distributed $102 million to serve 49,000 locations. The milestone supports Louisiana's goal of achieving full statewide broadband coverage by 2028.
On July 23, 2026, the GAO released a report titled 'Combating Fraud: Managing Risks in Federally Funded, State-Administered Programs' that included BEAD among 20 major federally funded, state-administered programs reviewed for fraud risk. The report found that BEAD's decentralized structure, where funds flow from NTIA to states and then to ISP subgrantees, creates multiple entry points for fraud, though GAO noted no adjudicated fraud cases have been tied directly to BEAD and the program is too new for its audit data to be fully indicative of program integrity.
NTIA has asked several state broadband offices to review satellite (LEO) BEAD awards after the FCC's updated Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric showed many previously funded locations are already served or no longer serviceable. An independent analysis by New York Law School's Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute found the average satellite award reduction across 47 states would be about 33.77%, with Colorado's own broadband office estimating roughly a third of its awarded LEO locations could be affected, while some Broadband Breakfast reporting suggested cuts could reach as high as half in some cases.
Decatur County REMC and NineStar Connect became among the first organizations in Indiana to sign federal BEAD contracts. DCREMC will receive $7,133,202 in BEAD funding, matched by $6,534,465 in cooperative investment, to build fiber-to-the-home service across six counties, with construction starting in August and completion by August 2027. NineStar Connect also signed a contract to build infrastructure in seven counties.
Providers: Decatur County REMC, NineStar Connect · Amount: $7.1M Source
Decatur County REMC became one of the first Indiana organizations to sign a federal BEAD contract, receiving $7,133,202 in funding matched by $6,534,465 in cooperative investment to build fiber-to-the-home service across six counties. NineStar Connect also signed a BEAD contract to deploy infrastructure in seven additional counties, with construction on DCREMC's project starting in August and full completion expected by August 2027.
Providers: Decatur County REMC, NineStar Connect · Amount: $7.1M Source
Decatur County REMC became one of the first organizations in Indiana to sign a federal BEAD contract, securing $7,133,202 in BEAD funds matched by $6,534,465 in cooperative investment to build fiber-to-the-home service across six counties. NineStar Connect also signed a BEAD contract to deploy infrastructure in seven counties, though its funding amount was not disclosed. Construction is set to begin in August 2026 with completion expected by August 2027.
Providers: Decatur County REMC, NineStar Connect · Amount: $7.1M Source
Program MilestoneCaliforniaJuly 17, 2026 Deadline 2026-09-17 Opportunity
On July 17, 2026, NTIA approved California's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Final Proposal, unlocking the state's broadband investment through a competitive, technology-neutral process. The approval leaves NTIA one state away from approving all 56 BEAD Eligible Entities nationwide, and a CPUC resolution on final proposal revisions may go to a vote as soon as September 17, 2026.
On July 17, 2026, NTIA approved California's BEAD Final Proposal, unlocking a $1.86 billion broadband investment through a competitive, technology-neutral subgrantee selection process. The approval leaves NTIA just one state away from approving all 56 BEAD final proposals nationwide, and CPUC will next publish a resolution on proposal revisions for public comment, with possible Commission action as soon as September 17, 2026.
On the afternoon of July 17, 2026, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved California's BEAD Final Proposal, capping months of work by the California Public Utilities Commission since the plan's submission in December 2025. The approval ensures the Benefit of the Bargain goals were met by delivering the greatest value for California's $1.86 billion broadband investment through a competitive, technology-neutral process that prioritizes reliable, affordable service to unserved and underserved communities.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved California's BEAD Final Proposal, a milestone following months of work by the California Public Utilities Commission since the plan's December 2025 submission. A resolution detailing revisions since the original submission will go to public comment and may be considered at the CPUC's September 17, 2026 voting meeting.
NTIA approved California's Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Final Proposal on July 17, 2026, following the CPUC's original submission in December 2025. The approval clears the way for California's $1.86 billion broadband investment to move forward through a competitive, technology-neutral selection process.
On July 17, 2026, NTIA approved California's BEAD Final Proposal, a milestone following the CPUC's Final Proposal submission in December 2025. The approval covers California's $1.86 billion broadband investment through a competitive, technology-neutral process, and a resolution on Final Proposal revisions may go before the CPUC as soon as September 17, 2026.
On July 17, 2026, NTIA approved the California Public Utilities Commission's BEAD Final Proposal, clearing the way for the state's broadband subgrant program to move forward. The approval follows the Final Proposal's submission in December 2025 and multiple rounds of negotiation with preliminary subgrantees. A resolution detailing revisions since the original submission will go to public comment and could be considered at the September 17, 2026 CPUC voting meeting.
NTIA has told several state broadband offices that some previously approved satellite (LEO) internet locations under BEAD must be reviewed after the FCC updated its Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric and National Broadband Map on July 1, 2026. States that cannot show flagged locations remain eligible must remove them via a post-award change request, while a New York Law School analysis estimated the change could cut satellite BEAD awards by roughly a third on average across states, with Colorado and Louisiana confirming they received the NTIA request.
WCMU Public Media reported on July 16, 2026 that the Presque Isle Electric and Gas Cooperative (PIE&G) is finishing phase three and entering phase four, the final phase, of its multi-year fiber buildout in northeast Michigan, with 7,500 customers now connected after five years of construction. The report notes PIE&G is also seeking future BEAD funding, and Michigan's Chief Connectivity Officer Eric Frederick confirmed the state received about $1.6 billion in BEAD allocations, though this particular phase of PIE&G's project has been primarily funded through RDOF rather than BEAD.
Decatur County REMC became the first of Indiana's 24 BEAD grant awardees to sign its contract with the Indiana Broadband Office in late June, clearing the way for construction to begin within weeks. The $7.1 million BEAD award, plus a local match, will extend fiber to roughly 2,800 homes and businesses in Decatur County, with most work expected complete by year end. Indiana overall now expects to award just over $483 million in BEAD grants, down from an initial $868 million allocation, to reach about 123,000 homes and businesses statewide.
Providers: Decatur County REMC · Amount: $7.1M Source
The NTIA has asked several state broadband offices to review previously approved satellite internet locations under BEAD after the FCC's July 1 update to its Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric flagged some as potentially ineligible. A New York Law School analysis estimates roughly 35% of BEAD locations awarded for LEO satellite service, about 312,000 locations, could become ineligible, reducing satellite funding by an estimated $354 million, with Colorado and Louisiana among states confirming they received the request.
Tennessee, along with Louisiana, Texas, and other states, is reviewing satellite (LEO) BEAD-funded locations after the NTIA asked states to reassess eligibility following an FCC Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric update on June 30, 2026. Tennessee's broadband program director confirmed the state is reviewing its locations, though as of early reporting the state had not yet received NTIA's formal list, unlike Colorado and Louisiana which had received notices citing potential removal of a significant share of awarded satellite locations. NTIA stated it is not automatically revoking approvals but is asking states to verify whether flagged locations are still eligible or already served by terrestrial providers.
In late June 2026, Decatur County REMC became the first of Indiana's 24 BEAD grant awardees to sign its contract with the Indiana Broadband Office, clearing the way for construction to begin within weeks. The $7.1 million BEAD award, combined with a local match, will extend fiber to about 2,800 additional homes and businesses in Decatur County, with the cooperative expecting most work done by year's end.
Providers: Decatur County REMC · Amount: $7.1M Source
In late June 2026, Decatur County REMC signed its BEAD contract with the Indiana Broadband Office, the first of the state's 24 grant awardees to do so, clearing the way for construction to begin within weeks. The $7.1 million BEAD award, combined with a local match, will extend fiber to about 2,800 homes and businesses in Decatur County, with most work expected complete by year-end.
Providers: Decatur County REMC · Amount: $7.1M Source
ConnectLA joined Rayville-based Volt Broadband on July 16 to mark completion of a broadband expansion project that has connected nearly 7,000 homes and businesses in Northeast Louisiana. The project was funded through the state's GUMBO 1.0 program, which draws on the U.S. Treasury's Capital Projects Fund rather than BEAD; BEAD funding in Louisiana flows through the separate GUMBO 2.0 program.
TNECD published an update titled 'Tennessee's Road to 100: Expanding Broadband Access Across the State,' noting that the share of Tennesseans lacking adequate internet access has fallen from over 20% in 2019 to less than 2% today, with the state on track for statewide broadband availability by the end of 2028. The piece is part of an ongoing 'Road to 100' campaign sharing stories about broadband's impact and does not announce new awardees or specific award amounts.
South Carolina's Broadband Office has signed subrecipient BEAD agreements for ZiTEL, TruVista, BellSouth (AT&T) and Comcast, with construction expected to begin soon. The state moved eight of its original 16 planned BEAD projects to state/ARPA funding instead, leaving eight ISPs including Amazon Leo and Starlink in the federal BEAD program.
South Carolina announced that eight of the 16 BEAD projects it originally planned will instead be funded using existing state and federal ARPA resources rather than BEAD dollars, halving the program's subgrantee list. The move reflects the state's determination that it no longer needs the full slate of BEAD awards it had planned.
South Carolina's Broadband Office confirmed that of the eight projects remaining in its BEAD program, four subgrant agreements have been signed, with construction expected to begin soon. ZiTEL and TruVista Communications, the two largest remaining awardees, have both signed their BEAD subrecipient agreements, while Amazon Leo and SpaceX's Starlink also remain in the program using satellite technology.
South Carolina officials announced that eight of the 16 projects originally planned under the state's $42.45 billion federal BEAD allocation will instead be funded using existing state and ARPA resources rather than BEAD money. The remaining eight BEAD subgrantees include ZiTEL, TruVista, Amazon Leo (Kuiper), Starlink, AT&T, Comcast, Spectrum, and Intus Smartcities, with only Amazon Leo's award amount changing slightly from its preliminary figure.
Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Darren Soto (D-FL) introduced the bipartisan FIREWALL Act (H.R. 9541) on June 30, 2026, which would permanently prohibit federal telecommunications funding, including BEAD, from being used to purchase fiber-optic cable sourced from countries of concern. Sponsors said the bill aims to avoid another costly 'rip and replace' scenario like the one used to remove Chinese telecom equipment from U.S. networks, and the bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Astound VP Fred Maldonado said the company won only 12 of 25 BEAD applications in Oregon, leaving awarded areas too far from its existing network to justify construction costs. Public records show Astound forfeited roughly $90.6 million of its Oregon award, alongside a similar decision to decline ~$166 million in Texas.
Astound VP Fred Maldonado said the company is walking away from BEAD grants in Texas after the state awarded only 5 of its 33 applications, leaving noncontiguous, uneconomical build areas. Public records show Astound forfeited about $166 million in provisional Texas awards, with rising construction costs and elapsed time since application cited as key factors. Other Texas providers, including Resound Networks, also stepped away from portions of their awards.
At a June 30 House Communications and Technology Subcommittee oversight hearing, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth said guidance on how states can spend roughly $21 billion in BEAD non-deployment savings will be released "this summer," after the notice—originally expected by March 11—was delayed. Roth cited the need to proceed cautiously given heavy stakeholder interest, while declining to specify whether the funds could be withheld from states with AI regulations under a Trump executive order.
At a June 30, 2026 House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee hearing, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth confirmed that California and Illinois are the only two of 56 eligible entities still awaiting approval of their BEAD final proposals, with NTIA's written testimony stating 54 of 56 have been approved. Roth said the 'ball is in Illinois' court' after its proposal fell short on finding efficiencies under Benefit of the Bargain principles, and said California's holdup involves 'mapping anomalies,' with 'the ball is in California's court' as well.
At a June 30, 2026 House Energy and Commerce oversight hearing, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth testified that BEAD-funded infrastructure has been deployed in two states and that the agency has approved 54 of 56 eligible entities' final proposals. Roth said the program is now expected to save roughly $21 billion versus original deployment cost projections. ISPs awaiting final approval in the remaining states should watch for movement as NTIA works to close out the last holdouts.
During a June 30, 2026 House Energy & Commerce oversight hearing, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth told lawmakers that Nebraska and Louisiana are the two states that have so far connected residents using BEAD funds, both via fixed wireless access rather than fiber. This aligns with NTIA's own press releases confirming Nebraska's first BEAD-funded household connection (Ogallala, via Vistabeam) and reports of Louisiana's Bossier/Bienville Parish connection, both using fixed wireless technology.
On June 30, 2026, the Vermont Community Broadband Board and NEK Broadband (now merged with CVFiber as NEKCV) celebrated the grand opening of the Groton Connectivity HUB, a free community technology center at 1334 Scott Highway funded by a $2.85 million USDA Community Connect Grant. The HUB offers shared workspace, computer stations, and a privacy pod for telehealth, remote work, and education, aiming to expand digital access in the highly underserved town of Groton.
On June 17, 2026, NTIA announced two new Notices of Funding Opportunity totaling $790 million for Tribal broadband: $540 million under a third round of the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) and $250 million under the new Native Entities Grant Program (NEGP), funded via the Digital Equity Act's Tribal set-aside. Applications opened June 17 and close September 17, 2026, with awards expected to begin on a rolling basis starting Spring 2027; legal analysts note the programs' criteria likely favor affordability/subsidy uses that complement BEAD-funded deployments. This is separate from state BEAD allocations but is administered by NTIA as part of overall federal broadband funding priorities.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced a new public dashboard that shows how strategic state investments, including matching funds and technical assistance, have helped the state secure more than $1.3 billion in federal infrastructure funding, including broadband/BEAD dollars. The interactive dashboard tracks return on investment from the state's IIJA Cash Fund and lets users search hundreds of projects by county, congressional district, and funding category.
Oregon's broadband office said it is moving forward with most of its preliminary BEAD awards, but Astound Broadband is declining nearly $90.7 million meant to serve 11,000 homes and businesses. The refused projects were mostly pure fiber builds, with about 3,000 locations involving fixed wireless/fiber combinations.
Empire State Development's ConnectALL Office announced more than $8.3 million in awards spanning three programs: over $3.8 million through the federally funded Municipal Infrastructure Program (led by a $3.84 million award to NSN Genesee LLC to connect 21,575 locations in Genesee County), nearly $4 million through the state-funded Connectivity Innovation Business Model Innovation Awards, and nearly $600,000 through the Regional and Local Assistance Program. The awards support affordable internet models in low-income and rural areas, expand broadband in Genesee County, and fund local government broadband planning statewide.
NTIA's chief attorney publicly defended the agency's policy extending FCC pole attachment rules to BEAD subgrantees, including electric cooperatives normally exempt from such federal regulation. The defense comes amid sustained opposition from NRECA and individual co-ops, some of which have cited the rules as a reason for declining or reconsidering BEAD awards.
Louisiana executed its BEAD grant agreement with SpaceX, committing about $8.2 million for the satellite operator to serve 10,635 homes and businesses under the state's approved BEAD spending plan. This follows the state's broader BEAD implementation push.
The Arkansas State Broadband Office announced it executed a BEAD Program grant agreement with satellite provider Amazon Leo, marking the first such agreement nationally. This signals movement toward funds disbursement for LEO satellite-based broadband service in the state.
Rep. April McClain Delaney and three House colleagues sent a June 11, 2026 letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth demanding an explanation for the continued withholding of BEAD nondeployment funds, calling the delay unlawful. The letter follows NTIA's rescission of previously approved nondeployment activities under last year's BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice, with lawmakers noting states still lack guidance nearly a year later and questioning the administration's characterization of roughly $21 billion in unspent funds as 'taxpayer savings.'
Astound Broadband forfeited about $165–166 million in provisional Texas BEAD awards after the state approved only 5 of the 33 project applications it submitted, which were designed to form a single contiguous fiber route extending from its existing network into more than 30 counties. Astound VP Fred Maldonado said the partial approval left it with disconnected counties far from its footprint, making the build uneconomical, especially amid rising costs during the lengthy award process. The Texas Broadband Development Office confirmed four tentative grant winners, including Astound and Resound Networks, rescinded their awards, affecting roughly 31,000 locations.
The Texas Broadband Development Office announced it finalized subgrantee agreements for BEAD, awarding funds to 17 providers to connect over 208,000 locations, down from the roughly 240,000 locations and $1.27 billion in provisional awards announced in October. Telecompetitor's June 8 podcast and article detailed the differences, including four providers that rescinded awards and notable increases/decreases for individual providers like Nexstream, Lyte Fiber, and USConnect Holdings.
The Texas Broadband Development Office announced it has finalized BEAD subgrantee agreements with 17 providers, totaling $1,067,572,758 to connect 208,873 unserved/underserved locations. This is down from the $1.27B provisional awards announced last October, with five providers (including Astound Broadband and Amazon Kuiper) losing their awards entirely and several others seeing significant changes in funding and location counts.
Providers: 360 Broadband LLC, 4 IP Technology and Media LLC (Nexstream), AMG Technology Investment Group LLC (Nextlink Internet), Aristotle Unified Communications Inc., AT&T Services Inc./Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., Charter Communications (Spectrum), Connect Holding II LLC (Brightspeed), Frontier Southwest Inc./Verizon, IBT Group USA LLC, Lucky Fiber, Lyte Fiber LLC, Plains Internet, Rural Telecommunications of America Inc., Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Starlink Services LLC), USConnect Holdings Inc. (Livingston Telephone Co.), Valor Telecommunications of Texas LLC (Uniti), VTX Communications LLC · Amount: $1.1B Source
Louisiana's broadband office, ConnectLA, launched the ÉTOUFFÉE grant program to help community organizations provide free devices, upgraded equipment, and digital skills training to residents, complementing the state's BEAD/GUMBO infrastructure buildout. Eligible applicants include veterans service organizations, rural public health agencies, municipalities, state agencies, and qualifying post-secondary institutions, with applications open through July 15, 2026.
Nextlink Internet activated the first BEAD-funded tower in the nation on May 1, 2026 in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, delivering fixed wireless gigabit service to 104 locations in Bossier Parish under an $18.5 million ConnectLA GUMBO 2.0 subgrant. On May 14, 2026, NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth and Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen celebrated Vistabeam's activation of the first BEAD-funded household subscriber connection in Ogallala, Nebraska, also via fixed wireless, with both states' milestones confirmed by NTIA, ConnectLA, and the Nebraska Broadband Office.
On May 1, 2026, Nextlink Internet activated a fixed-wireless tower in southern Bienville Parish, Louisiana, bringing gigabit-speed service to 104 BEAD locations in Bossier Parish — the first time households anywhere in the U.S. had service available via BEAD-funded infrastructure. The tower is part of an $18.5 million Louisiana BEAD subgrant to Nextlink to serve 7,460 unserved/underserved locations, awarded through ConnectLA's GUMBO 2.0 program, and was announced via a ConnectLA press release on May 13, 2026.
Empire State Development announced a commitment of up to $20 million to bring broadband access to New Yorkers in homeless shelters statewide, with ConnectALL providing $17 million in coordination with OTDA and an additional $3 million in-kind investment secured by the Public Service Commission. The funding will support broadband infrastructure installation, including Wi-Fi routers and internal wiring, with OTDA determining shelter eligibility; no specific ISP partners were named in the release.
The NTIA approved Vermont's BEAD Final Proposal on February 10, 2026, unlocking $93 million of the state's nearly $229 million federal allocation to expand broadband access to more than 99% of Vermonters. The proposal, submitted to NTIA on December 4, 2025, authorizes Vermont to move from planning to implementation, with subgrantee, deployment project, and location data files posted on the VCBB website.
NTIA approved Maine's BEAD Final Proposal, part of a batch of 18 state/territory approvals announced November 18, 2025. The plan, submitted by the Maine Connectivity Authority, includes $48.4 million in federal awards to expand internet infrastructure to 21,818 homes and businesses, drawing on Maine's $272 million BEAD allocation, with the remaining ~$200 million's use still pending NTIA guidance.
The Illinois Office of Broadband announced that provisional BEAD awards under Connect Illinois Round 4 are now available, directing stakeholders to an interactive BEAD Award Map (illinoisbead.org) showing award details by location, provider, and technology. The state's official page notes the program remains subject to change based on NTIA's June 6, 2025 BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice.
On Dec. 2, 2025, the Colorado Broadband Office announced that NTIA approved the state's Final Proposal under the BEAD program, unlocking $420.6 million in federal funding to bring high-speed internet to more than 96,000 Coloradans in rural and underserved areas. Governor Jared Polis called the investment critical to closing the digital divide and advancing the state's goal of connecting 99% of residents to high-speed internet.
As grant-funded broadband projects scale statewide, the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) is proactively addressing an anticipated surge in permit volumes by hosting a series of Permitting Roundtables in five regions during May and June. These sessions bring together broadband providers (ISPs), local jurisdictions, and utility owners to identify process bottlenecks and explore technical and financial support options, with a virtual option also available.
On September 5, 2023, Gov. Andy Beshear announced a record $386 million investment through Kentucky's Better Internet Initiative, awarding 56 grants totaling more than $196 million from the Kentucky Broadband Deployment Fund (funded by ARPA dollars, not BEAD directly), with ISPs contributing over $190 million in matching funds. The investment will expand fiber access in 46 counties, bringing high-speed internet to more than 42,600 homes and businesses for the first time, with recipients including Charter Communications, All Points Broadband, Spectrum Mid-America, and Kenergy among others.
