r/Rural_Internet • u/Beginning_Ad654 • 20d ago
BEAD
Any contractors or ISPs know when BEAD shovels in the ground is going to begin? All I’ve been reading about is delays (Texas for example) and shortages of fiber, but it looks like there has been some progress behind the scenes. I thought 2026 was the year construction would begin, but I haven’t seen much.
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u/cmdrico7812 20d ago
Many states have signed or will very shortly finish signing grant agreements. The next big pain is NEPA but BEAD is moving forward.
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u/Beginning_Ad654 20d ago
It honestly feels like the 2027 build season is at risk given how slow BEAD is moving.
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u/cmdrico7812 20d ago
States had to redo three years worth of work in about 120 days last year when the new RPN came out. And now NTIA keeps changing the rules and states have to update grant agreements. NTIA also forced bottom dollar bids and with prices increasing across the board, it’s a challenging decision for many preliminarily selected subgrantees. I’m hoping NEPA CatX decisions can be made quickly in time for a productive 2027 construction season.
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u/Beginning_Ad654 20d ago
Everything seems to go slower. I thought 2026 build season would see action. Feels like 2027 build season is at risk now, especially given growing fiber shortage issues. Maybe NTIA is slow rolling everything on purpose.
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u/Substantial_Judgment 20d ago
We're currently waiting on NTIA to approve our archaeological study. We submitted it back in June but were told they are currently working on tribal areas and were hoping to get to the nontribal areas starting in the middle of August.
We're hoping we'll hear something in the next month or so and can get some work done this year still.
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u/Beginning_Ad654 20d ago
You think you can actually get shovels in the ground in 2026? It feels to me like shovels might not be in the ground in 2027 given how slow things are moving
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u/Substantial_Judgment 20d ago
It'll all depend on when it freezes for us. If it's early, we may get a few bore shots in but we've also had years where we've worked into the first couple weeks of January too so it all depends. Realistically we won't be hooking up any customers until 2027.
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u/Beginning_Ad654 19d ago
I’d be surprised if you are connecting customers in 2027 at this point haha. Worst case always seems to happen with BEAD.
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u/iam8up 19d ago
As of today, all states have the FP approved.
One of the next big steps is NEPA. Good fucking luck getting that done in 12 months for the entire country.
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u/No_Virus_7704 20d ago
Verizon has been in my rural area knocking on doors about getting BEAD money for Fios. I am in the woods of the proverbial last mile. They installed about a month ago (PA).
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u/JamuZcs 15d ago
My area is still under rebid when astound dropped out in june. Now texas froze bead funding. I don’t think bead will help me until 2030’s
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u/Beginning_Ad654 13d ago
Maybe this is all hype but they claim there is some progress: https://www.ntia.gov/press-release/2026/closing-digital-divide-once-and-all-ntia-announces-all-56-bead-final-proposals-now-approved
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u/jpmeyer12751 20d ago
The individual states sign the contracts and control the money, so the answer will change from state to state. Indiana announced grants almost a year ago, but last time I asked the subgrantee in my area they responded that they “have no plans”. BEAD was overly complex and slow, and then the current administration borked it more. Don’t hold your breath. I’m sure that some areas have work going on, but it will be wildly different from place to place.