The $42.45 billion earmarked for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is enough to bring fiber to the "vast majority" of unserved and underserved locations, ACA Connects concludes in a revised study based on the FCC's new broadband mapping data.

ACA Connects, an organization that represents small and midsized cable operators and telcos, came to that conclusion with the release of "Version 2.0" of its BEAD Funding Allocation and Project Award Framework developed with business consulting firm Cartesian.

Figure 1: ACA Connects says its new framework shows there's enough BEAD money to go around to bring fiber to underserved and unserved locations in US states and territories.
(Source: Image by jcomp on Freepik)

Giving states a 'head start'

Version 2.0 of the framework tapped into the FCC's new mapping data. It's a follow-up to Version 1.0, which relied on less precise census-block-level FCC Form 477 data. ACA Connects believes the new framework, which uses location-specific data, will give US states and territories a "head start" in developing plans to award BEAD funding for fixed broadband deployment projects.

The new framework provides a state-by-state and territory funding framework covering aspects such as revised eligible locations, estimated BEAD funding and the costs based on different fiber deployment scenarios. It also provides a list of ACA Connects members that operate in each jurisdiction.

Drilled down further, the 2.0 study uses FCC broadband mapping data and Cartesian's proprietary network cost model to estimate the share of BEAD funding each state or territory will receive. It then estimates the number of unserved and underserved locations in each state/territory that will be eligible for support when funds are distributed to subgrantees in 2024.

Then, based on a "reasonable business case," the study projects that subgrantees will contribute $22 billion in total matching funds on top of the $42 billion set by Congress, providing the basis for the $64 billion in total funds available for BEAD projects.

The study also outlines a "Baseline Fiber" approach that deploys fiber only to locations at or below an "extremely high-cost threshold" of $9,000 per location used for the purposes of the analysis, and a "Maximum Fiber" approach that deploys fiber to additional, higher-cost locations.

"In both scenarios, the vast majority of eligible locations receive fiber, and a substantial share of the $64 billion in total available funds is left over for broadband adoption and other initiatives," ACA Connects explained.

State-by-state and territory-by-territory analysis

As one example, the new framework shows that Alaska, as of January 24, had about 38,400 unserved locations (lacking speeds of 25 Mbit/s down and 3 Mbit/s upstream), and 16,000 underserved locations (lacking access to 100 Mbit/s down and 20 Mbit/s up). Based on the study/framework, $319 million in BEAD funds are expected to be granted to Alaska.

A range of $204 million to $319 million of BEAD funds is required to build high-speed broadband to all eligible locations in Alaska, according to the 2.0 framework. Total capital would be about $481 million ($319 million in total BEAD funds and $163 million from the provider match).

Figure 2: Click here for a larger version of this image.
(Source: ACA Connects BEAD Funding Allocation and Project Award Framework, Version 2.0)

The framework's Alaska drill-down lists out three ACA Members in the area: American Broadband, GCI and Matanuska Telephone Association.

By comparison, Nebraska, as of January 24, had 9,100 unserved locations and 57,900 underserved locations. With about $210 million in BEAD funding expected to be granted to Nebraska, the framework believes it will cost in the range of $167 million to $210 million in BEAD funds to build high-speed broadband to all eligible locations. Total capital requirements would be about $411 million ($210 million in total BEAD funds, and $201 million in provider match funds).

Figure 3: Click here for a larger version of this image.
(Source: ACA Connects BEAD Funding Allocation and Project Award Framework, Version 2.0)

The study lists out more than two dozen ACA Connects members in the state, including Beamspeed, Cable One, Nebraska Central Telecom, TDS Telecom, Vyve and Windstream.

New data poised to 'prevent wasteful overbuilding'

The use of more accurate mapping data not only determines which locations have been left behind, but will "maximize use of limited funding to deploy fiber and prevent wasteful overbuilding," ACA Connects President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer said in a statement.

"Version 2.0 of our BEAD framework significantly improves on the first version with better data and refinements to our methodology," he added. "Our partner Cartesian has done an excellent job updating our study based on the FCC mapping data, producing an analysis that is more granular and precise than was possible at the time we issued Version 1."

Spellmeyer said ACA Connects will refine its analysis as new data comes in.

Related posts:

— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading