States Working on Finalizing BEAD Contracts, Beginning NEPA Reviews

DALLAS, April 15, 2026 – After getting final approval on their spending plans under a $42.45 billion broadband grant program, states have six months to finalize contracts with participating ISPs.

That and other prep work are taking a lot of state broadband offices’ attention, officials said at the Connected America show in Dallas Tuesday.

For the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology had to give the final go-ahead on states’ final spending plans. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, another Commerce agency, is handling BEAD and evaluating spending plans on a policy level.

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