Nokia Self-Certifies Buy America Compliance for BEAD

August 9, 2024 – Telecommunications equipment manufacturer Nokia announced Thursday that it self-certified that its fiber products manufactured in the U.S. meet the updated compliance requirements for the Build America, Buy America program announced July 30. 

BABA requires that manufactured products funded by the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act are American-sourced and that the cost of components of the products that are manufactured in the U.S. meet or exceed 55 percent of the total cost of the project.

Internet service providers participating in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program need to ensure, under federal penalty, that the equipment they use is in compliance with these rules. The NTIA created a self-certification and compliance framework for manufacturers that allows them to prove that products meet the requirements. 

Nokia said that it was the first vendor to self-certify that its products manufactured in the U.S. are BABA compliant. 

Sandy Motley, president of fixed networks at Nokia, said that “as a certified vendor, we can now provide BEAD applicants with a certification letter that’s become essential for applications and BABA reporting requirements. It also provides the confidence and assurance several need to submit product orders today without fear of being out of compliance.”  

On July 30, the NTIA released a framework for entities to self-certify and report compliance with BABA requirements, expanding on a limited waiver released in February which requires certain equipment to be produced in the U.S. while waiving the domestic manufacturing requirement for other equipment types. It will require the majority of fiber broadband equipment to be domestically manufactured. 

Under the announcement, manufacturers can choose to self-certify. It also specifies that manufacturers are required to provide a BABA certification letter to a subgrantee of federal funds. The NTIA said that it expects to release the first version of a Self-Certification list in the coming weeks to be updated regularly.

“This release is timely, as subgrantees are preparing to bid on BEAD deployments across the country, and both subgrantees and manufacturers need clear rules of the road on how to report on BABA compliance,” NTIA senior policy advisor Will Arbuckle wrote in a blog post Tuesday.