Doug Dawson at CCG always has a practical and astute eye on the impact of policy and broadband deployment…
One of the biggest challenges for BEAD grant is for State Broadband Offices to make sure that every unserved location gets covered by the grants. My understanding of the process is that NTIA will not approve the BEAD grants being made by a State until they can demonstrate that every unserved and underserved location will be covered by the grants.
I think that requirement will lead to what this blog calls the Smallest BEAD Dilemma. The problem States will encounter is finding solution for the many small pockets of unserved customers. The map below is a good representation of the issue. This is a map of the BEAD serving areas in a real county. I squared off the county to hide its identity. The blue areas are considered unserved for BEAD, the yellow areas are underserved, and the orange areas are served.
The first thing to notice is that that there are small pockets of unserved and underserved customers throughout the county. Finding an ISP willing to build to construct to these many small areas is going to be a challenge for a Broadband Office.
It reminds me of the consultant dilemma – do you want it good, fast or cheap? Where in this application good might mean ubiquitous. You can choose two. BEAD is leaning toward good and cheap.