Iowa Launches New BEAD Bidding Round
State expected to receive $415 million to close digital divide.
July 10, 2025 – Iowa officials just took the next step toward spending more than $400 million to ensure the entire state has high-speed Internet.
On Wednesday, the Iowa Department of Management, Division of Information Technology, announced a $400 million broadband grant opportunity for Internet service providers. The grant is available through the Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program and is supported by the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The goal is to incentivize broadband infrastructure build-out in unserved and underserved Iowa areas.
The announcement follows the updated BEAD rules announced on June 6 by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Under the new guidelines, ISPs must submit new bids to participate, and states are required to submit revised final proposals by Sept. 4, 2025.
FROM SPEEDING BEAD SUMMIT
Panel 1: How Are States Thinking About Reasonable Costs Now?
Panel 2: Finding the State Versus Federal Balance in BEAD
Panel 3: Reacting to the New BEAD NOFO Guidance
Panel 4: Building, Maintaining and Adopting Digital Workforce Skills
Iowa was tentatively awarded $415 million through the BEAD program under the Biden administration. After getting its initial approval last year, the state now faces a tight deadline to comply with the new federal rules.
State officials said they are trying to implement the changes and update Iowa’s BEAD documentation and mapping “as quickly as possible,” and are pushing ISPs to do the same to stay on track.
Member discussion