Small ISP Questions Delaware's BEAD Awards
The state plans to spend its surplus BEAD cash on workforce development and network resilience projects.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2024 – Talkie Communications, a small fiber-to-the-home Internet Service Provider, is asking Washington officials to reject Delaware's Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program awards unveiled a few weeks ago and require the state to re-open the application process.
In a Dec. 24 letter, Talkie's CEO raised several objections with numerous officials within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration – which has the ultimately authority to approve or reject Delaware's awards – and Joseph Wender, director of the Capital Projects Fund run by the U.S. Treasury Department.
CEO Andre DeMattia said one of his biggest concerns was that BEAD money will be used to overbuild 31 Talkie locations in Delaware that have already received broadband subsidy money from the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).
