NTIA approves Illinois's BEAD final proposal, last of 56 states/territories
On August 25 the Commerce Department approved Illinois's BEAD spending plan, making it the final state or territory to receive clearance under the $42.5 billion program. Illinois will spend $831 million of its original $1.04 billion allocation, with fiber locations cut to 97,000 and fixed wireless more than doubled to 33,600.
Award amount: $831.0M
What this means for BEAD compliance
ISPs planning to participate in Illinois's BEAD subgrantee selection process, including those awarded fiber (97,000 locations) and fixed wireless (33,600 locations) projects under the state's approved Final Proposal.
With Final Proposal approval, Illinois can now proceed to subgrantee selection and award execution, which triggers pre-award readiness obligations for prospective providers including challenge process participation, environmental review staffing, and SCRM/covered-equipment certifications. Providers should expect the state to move toward executed subgrant agreements soon, which will start the four-year deployment clock and activate the full suite of active-deployment obligations (performance, environmental permitting, financial/procurement controls, and cybersecurity requirements). The reduction in fiber locations and expansion of fixed wireless locations signals a shift in project mix that affected providers should confirm against their original bids before award execution.
Analysis by BeadComply Compliance Intelligence, grounded in the BEAD requirements registry.
Won a BEAD award in Illinois? See Illinois's program status and compliance requirements →
Related news
NationalNTIA lets states use BEAD savings for new round targeting missed unserved locationsNationalNTIA says new BEAD non-deployment fund guidance not coming soonNationalNTIA confirms all 56 BEAD final proposals now approved nationwideIllinoisNTIA approves Illinois BEAD plan, completing approval of all 56 state proposalsGet BEAD news like this in your inbox