- State broadband leaders said they’re short on time – and staff – in carrying out BEAD changes
- The time crunch also extends to the ISPs that need to supply updated info
- Despite NTIA’s push to speed up permitting, states still face looming challenges
SCTE TECH EXPO 25, WASHINGTON DC – States have been chugging away at revising their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) proposals for NTIA, but the time crunch is gnawing away at broadband office resources.
Meghan Sandfoss, Kentucky’s executive director of broadband development, said in a panel Monday the BEAD program’s “curing” process, where NTIA reviews the state plans and requests changes, has a “very aggressive” timeline.
“Sometimes it’s like less than 12 hours that we have to resubmit something,” she said at SCTE Tech Expo. “Sometimes [it’s] a couple of days. Sometimes that’s achievable, sometimes it’s not.”
NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth confirmed at the show the agency is asking states and providers to lower costs for certain BEAD projects by submitting their “best and final offer,” throwing another wrench in the BEAD timeline.
“One thing we need to recognize as we’re talking about these deadlines is we don’t do this alone in a silo,” said Minnesota broadband chief Bree Maki. “We need information from our partners,” meaning the ISPs, so “the timelines are tight all around.”
Staffing issues don’t help matters, either. “We know we’re short staffed in the amount of work, and they are all too,” Maki said, referring to the state’s other agencies. Georgia broadband director Jessica Simmons said her team just has four people, but she noted that can be an advantage as “we’re all going to be in the loop” when problems arise.
“One thing we are not shy to say is I will borrow and steal from any other broadband office who has figured out the answer [to a problem],” Maki said. “I know my team has people they talk to on other peoples’ team, because it’s not just the directors doing it.”
State challenges with BEAD permitting
When it comes to problems with BEAD implementation, permitting is unsurprisingly a big one. As Roth noted Monday, NTIA set up a new online permitting tool states can use for BEAD projects subject to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, as well as provide exemptions where appropriate.
By doing this, NTIA aims to speed up the processing time per project and help broadband offices get their permitting paperwork together. NTIA is also requiring state broadband offices to act as "joint lead agencies" to carry out NEPA review, which for some is an entirely new field.
“Previously, our office has not really been involved in the permitting process. It’s really been the providers going and getting the permits themselves,” Simmons said. “That obviously will be a new kind of process for us, assisting with that.”
In Sandfoss’ view, making sure BEAD projects comply with NEPA guidelines “should be fairly easy.” The hardest part of permitting is “the stuff we can’t control,” like pole attachment access and rules around deploying over railroad crossings.
“Those kinds of issues that you know aren’t just as cut and dry as getting a state agency to approve a historic preservation review,” she said.
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