Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program

OFFICIAL NOTICE

June 17, 2025.

On June 6, 2025, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a policy notice restructuring the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program (BEAD). A portion of Section 4 of that Policy Notice, Optimizing BEAD Locations, addresses Unlicensed Fixed Wireless (ULFW) locations.

Eligible Entities must account for Broadband Serviceable Locations (“BSLs”) that are eligible for funding (“ESLs”) with access to existing ULFW networks to prevent overbuilding. The following steps will ensure that locations already served by an ULFW service meet the technical specifications required and are not included in awards for BEAD deployment projects. DOM has reviewed the FCC’s National Broadband Map to determine the locations served by a ULFW provider.

This notice is to inform ULFW providers that they have seven calendar days (by 5pm CT, Monday, June 23, 2025) to respond indicating they intend to submit evidence that BEAD funding is not required for the locations they serve. Upon receiving the response, the ULFW provider has seven calendar days to submit documentation supporting the claim.  Documentation must show that existing ULFW services meet the same technical and service standards required for a ULFW application for a BEAD subgrant.  In addition, the provider must show that it is reasonably capable of delivering the service for at least four years after the date of Final Proposal submission. If a ULFW service provider demonstrates that it meets the requirements specified by the Policy Notice, the served locations will be ineligible for BEAD Program funding. If the provider does not respond or fails to meet the requirements specified by the Policy Notice, the locations in question will remain BEAD eligible.

Next Steps

If you intend to submit evidence showing that BEAD funding is not required for BSLs you serve, respond or send an email to broadband@dom.iowa.gov.

DOM will acknowledge receipt of your intent to submit evidence and provide you with a data file of the relevant locations and a form for submission. Thereafter, you will have seven days to submit the necessary evidence.

Evidence Requirements

Mitigating Potential Interference:

• Beam forming and/or beam nulling antenna arrays at both base station and subscriber radios
• Interference mitigation (in addition to beam forming/nulling) technologies
• Advanced non-line-of-sight capabilities or design considerations
• Reserved base station capacity to account for periods of higher interference
• Conservative link budgets to account for potential interference/congestion losses
• Adherence with network equipment manufacturer best practices or guidance regarding items such as minimum signal strength necessary to meet speed and latency requirements

Evaluating Network Capability:

• To ensure that the ULFW provider will have sufficient capacity to meet the statutory speed requirement of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, the network design for ULFW projects must demonstrate the ability to provide at least 5 Mbps (100Mbps downstream service - to be scaled for higher speed commitments) of simultaneous capacity to each BSL in the project area
• Reserved base station capacity to account for periods of higher interference
• Adherence with network equipment manufacturer best practices or guidance regarding items such as:
• Capacity/loading of base station radios with respect to number of, and provisioned bandwidth of, subscribers
• Minimum signal strength necessary to meet speed and latency requirements
• Backhaul requirements for base station deployments

Purpose

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program was authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Division F, Title I, Section 60102, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (November 15, 2021) also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The BEAD Program provides new federal funding for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to grant to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (States), as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands (Territories), and in certain circumstances political subdivisions of these States and Territories, for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. Funding is distributed primarily based on the relative number of “unserved” locations (i.e., broadband-serviceable locations that lack access to Reliable Broadband Service at speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream and latency levels low enough to support real-time, interactive applications) in each State and Territory. Each State is eligible to receive a minimum of $100,000,000 and each Territory is eligible to receive a minimum of $25,000,000. The State of Iowa received an allocation of $415,331,313 to implement the BEAD Program.

Timeline of Events

The following timeline identifies near-term steps associated with the BEAD program.  Note: This Timeline does not identify all events associated with the BEAD program, but only those activities that will be completed through the Initial Proposal process.

Five-Year Action Plan

As required by the BEAD program, the State of Iowa Five-Year Action Plan establishes Iowa’s broadband goals and priorities and serves as a comprehensive needs assessment informing the Initial Proposal. View the Five-Year Action Plan.

Initial Proposal

The Initial Proposal, among other things, describes the competitive process the State of Iowa proposes to use to select subgrantees to construct broadband projects. The Initial Proposal is Iowa’s “first draft” of the Final Proposal for the BEAD program. It explains how Iowa will ensure that every resident has access to a reliable, affordable, and high-speed broadband connection.

Volume 1 was approved by NTIA on March 1, 2024, and describes Iowa’s plan incorporating the following topics:

• Existing Broadband Funding Sources
• Unserved Locations
• Underserved Locations
• Community Anchor Institutions
• Enforceable Commitments
• Challenge Process

Volume 2 was approved by NTIA on September 25, 2024, and describes Iowa's plan incorporating the following topics:

• Objectives
• Local, Tribal, and Regional Broadband Planning Processes
• Local Coordination
• Deployment Subgrantee Selection
• Non-Deployment Subgrantee Selection
• Eligible Entity Implementation Activities
• Labor Standards and Protection
• Workforce Readiness
• Minority Business Enterprises, Women’s Business Enterprises, and Labor Surplus Area
• Cost and Barrier Reduction
• Climate Assessment
• Low-Cost Broadband Service Option
• Middle Class Affordability Plans
• Use of 20 Percent of Funding
• Eligible Entity Regulatory Approach
• Certification of Compliance with BEAD Requirements

The State of Iowa has constructed Volume 2 to include a comprehensive list of Appendices including draft versions of the proposed Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA #009), accompanying grant agreement, and other materials to give the public direct insight into the nature of the grant program envisioned.

To view the Volume 2 webinar recording and slides, use the following links: 

Volume 2 Webinar Recording (10/17/24)

Volume 2 Webinar Slides (10/17/24)

Initial Proposal Public Comment Period

Prior to submission to NTIA, the Initial Proposal was made available for a 30-day public comment period. Follow the link to view the version that was previously open for public comment: Initial Proposal (Public Comment Version)

Map Challenge

The challenge process gives Iowans an opportunity to correct inaccuracies in the state’s broadband map so it reflects the most up-to-date broadband access across the state. The updated map is designed to facilitate a better understanding of broadband availability throughout the state The challenge process has concluded. To learn more about the challenge process, visit the Map Challenge page.