The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) announced a new timeframe for reviewing and scoring applications for funding for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. While PBDA had accepted applications earlier this year, the program has now made significant changes since the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has issued substantially revised guidelines for the program. As part of the changes, the maps of communities that are unserved and underserved by broadband are being reconsidered as mobile broadband availability is being taken into consideration. These changes will shift the previous target allocations from high population urban areas to the rest of the state include rural and remote locations. 

The revised BEAD maps are expected to be released on July 8, with BEAD Round Two opening for applications on July 18 and closing on August 1. August will be spent reviewing, scoring, and accepting public comment on the applications, with a final proposal due to NTIA by September 4. 

The PBDA is charged with distributing more than $1 billion to provide broadband for unserved and underserved areas. However, none of the BEAD funds, the largest part of the funding received, have been distributed to date despite the original program details release more than two years ago.   

The restructured rules remove requirements limiting the funding to fiber and allow for satellite, wireless and other technologies, which should provide additional flexibility in expanding broadband into rural areas of the Commonwealth. The 23-page BEAD Program Restructuring Policy Notice (Policy Notice) issued by the NTIA also strikes out many of the complex regulatory requirements in the original program. Click here for the PBDA BEAD Program Page.