Fierce Network reports on a recent panel at the SCTE Tech Expo happening in 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.

MN Office of Broadband Development’s Bree Maki was there…

“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.”

Sounds like state offices are being asked to do more in permitting as well…

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.”