Michigan BEAD Volume Two Approved As NTIA Head Promotes Digital Equity Grant Program

WASHINGTON, August 28, 2024 – The federal government announced Wednesday it had approved Michigan’s plan for administering its slice of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, bringing the total to 32 states.

“It was a very sophisticated, very impressive plan that really shows how everybody in the state is going to get connected,” said Alan Davidson, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency tasked with handling BEAD. He spoke at an event in Detroit with city officials and digital equity advocates.

Michigan was allocated more than $1.5 billion for broadband expansion under the program, the fourth most of any state. With the second volume of its BEAD proposal approved, the state needs NTIA approval of its eligible location list before soliciting grant applications from ISPs. Three other states have opened their application windows so far.

The state says it solicited and processed 2.39 million challenges to broadband coverage data to make that eligibility list, a mandatory first step of the program. Michigan sent those results to the NTIA for approval on July 22.

Davidson urged the audience to participate in the agency’s Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program, a separate $1.25 billion program aimed at supporting efforts to address barriers to broadband adoption that linger after infrastructure has been put in place, like affordability, device access, and the ability to navigate the web. It’s part of the $2.75 billion in digital equity programs created by the Infrastructure Act along with BEAD.

“It's really important that we get great people taking advantage of this opportunity for funding from the federal government,” Davison said. He encouraged partnerships – applicants are allowed to apply in groups – as a means of easing the workload that comes with going after federal grant dollars. 

The NTIA made $910 million of the competitive grant money available in July. It’s available to nonprofits, tribes, and some units of state and local governments. The agency has been awarding states money from a separate pool of digital equity funding, of which Michigan received $20.5 million to stand up regional digital navigator offices.

Applications to the competitive program are due by September 23. The agency’s expecting to start awarding money this winter.

Also during Davidson's visit, Vecima Networks announced its first American-made optical line terminals were available from its partner company Mara Technologies's Holly, Michigan facility. The BEAD program requires some network components be manufactured domestically, and the two firms made plans for the onshoring partnership in February.

"In support of our major infrastructure investments, companies like Vecima and Mara Technologies have answered the call to build the network equipment needed to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service," Davidson said in a statement.