Utah, Marina Islands, Virgin Islands BEAD Initial Proposal Approved

July 23, 2024 – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration approved the Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program from Utah, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Monday.

"We are excited to connect all of Utah to broadband," said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. "Providing high-speed Internet to homes, businesses, and individuals catapults the state's trajectory as the fastest-growing and best economy in the nation and globally." 

Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Arnold Palacios said that receiving “federal funding is a crucial investment in our infrastructure and the future of our residents. As we recover from recent economic challenges,” this “initiative will create new opportunities in education, healthcare, and business, helping us build a more resilient and connected CNMI.”

These regions were allocated over $425 million combined through the BEAD program. $317 million will go to Utah, $80 million to the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and $27 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

The BEAD program requires that states submit an initial proposal, consisting of two volumes prior to receiving access to the full funds. Volume one outlines the state’s broadband coverage map challenges. Volume two outlines the state’s subgrantee selection process.

The Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act’s BEAD program allocates $42.5 billion among states and territories to fund broadband expansion in areas that lack adequate connectivity. States submitted proposals for implementing the program to the NTIA last year and the agency is in the process of reviewing and approving those plans.

Utah released volume two of its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment initial proposal on November 15. In addition, it announced that it entered the rebuttal phase of the map challenge process in June which ran through July 9.