The Fight Over Virginia’s BEAD Low-Cost Option Appears Over

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2024 – The fight over Virginia's low-cost service requirement for participants in the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program appears to be over. It ended with something of a compromise.

The Infrastructure Act, which stood up the BEAD program, requires providers to offer a “low-cost broadband service option” to low-income households on BEAD-funded infrastructure. States, the entities ultimately awarding grants under the program, have some leeway to define what exactly that looks like, but the federal government has shown a preference for a specific price cap or formula that would be used to arrive at one.