The Divide: How ACA Connects sees BEAD funds rolling out nationwide

This week: Brian Hurley, chief regulatory counsel for ACA Connects, joins the podcast to discuss the trade group's BEAD funding framework: a report offering a national analysis of how far funding from the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program will go, and a state-by-state breakdown of how that money can be used to deploy fiber broadband.

We discuss takeaways from that report, and what it reveals for certain states. We also talk about policy priorities for ACA Connects in the lead up to BEAD funds being allocated this summer.

Here are a few topics discussed in this episode:

• Background on the report and the model used to determine BEAD allocations (2:26)
• Why ACA Connects' model indicates that BEAD funds will be "sufficient" (6:57)
• Exploring Texas' estimated BEAD allocation (9:23)
• Exploring California's estimated BEAD allocation (16:10)
• Exploring Alaska's estimated BEAD allocation (18:51)
• Why the continuation of the Affordable Connectivity Program matters for BEAD (22:22)
• ACA Connects' policy advocacy in the lead up to BEAD (26:00)

For an unedited transcript of this conversation, click the caption button on the video player above.

Related stories and links:

• BEAD Funding Framework (ACA Connects)
• BEAD funds sufficient based on new FCC mapping data, ACA Connects says
• Fixing ACP's funding gap 'biggest issue' on 2023 horizon – ACA Connects CEO
• NTIA solicits Digital Equity Act feedback, promises further guidance on BEAD
• Indie cable ops 'not afraid of competition' but wary of BEAD's funding flow
• Playlist: 'The Divide' on the Light Reading Podcast

— Nicole Ferraro, editor, Light Reading, and host of "​​The Divide" on the Light Reading Podcast.