NTIA Locks Additions to Broadband Maps Under BEAD
States may delete, but not add, BEAD-eligible locations
WASHINGTON, July 2, 2025 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has effectively frozen additions to all state broadband service location maps.
The NTIA released a new FAQ on Thursday designed to “assist recipients in better understanding the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program.” That FAQ instructed states that they are not allowed “to add new BSLs [Broadband Serviceable Locations] from Fabric V6.” States are only allowed to use Fabric V6 to remove locations that no longer exist or that are now reported as being served by an unsubsidized provider.
“In short, the eligibility list is frozen but limited removals are allowed. Even if newer versions of the Fabric identify locations that appear unserved or were previously missing, they are not eligible for BEAD funding,” wrote Alexis Schrubbe, director of the Internet Equity Initiative at the University of Chicago’s Data Science Institute, in a June 27 post to her Deus Lex Machina Substack blog.
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
The BSL Fabric is a dataset of all U.S. locations where broadband internet access service is or could be installed. The Federal Communications Commission updates the Fabric semiannually to account for new builds or changing locations.
With this new FAQ, the NTIA has seemingly closed off challenges that would add BEAD-eligible locations. BEAD maps have been a subject of controversy, with some arguing that they do not accurately reflect the true state of broadband coverage in the U.S.
“Fabric v6 will not be used as a ‘true up’ in the manner that was permitted in the BEAD Challenge Process and is not used to change BSL eligibility from served to unserved or underserved,” the NTIA FAQ reiterated.
The updated notice comes in the wake of a recent study showing that the BEAD program may cost billions less than expected, due to a steep decline in the number of eligible BEAD locations.
