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# With all BEAD Plans Approved, States and Territories Set to Spend $18.2 Billion on Deployment
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/with-all-bead-plans-approved-states-and-territories-set-to-spend-18-2-billion-on-deployment/
- Published: 2026-08-28T17:24:43.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-18T21:47:44.000Z
- Description: The program’s 3.79 million locations are set to 63 percent fiber and 22 percent satellite, based on NTIA-approved plans
- Author: Jake Neenan
- Tags: BEAD, Arielle Roth, SpaceX, nondeployment, #with-siderail

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2026 – With Illinois’s approval this week, the Commerce Department has cleared every state and territory’s spending plan under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

In all, the 56 [approved plans](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/chart-of-states-accepting-bead-grant-applications/) show 3.79 million locations are set to be served by the program, and states and territories are planning to spend $18.19 billion on deployment projects.

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Of those 3.79 million locations, 62.9 percent are in line for fiber and 21.9 percent will get satellite. Fixed wireless projects will serve 13.3 percent, and the remaining 1.9 percent of locations will get cable.

NTIA’s [location counts](https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/funding-programs/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-bead-program/award-recipients?ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) include community anchor institutions, facilities like schools and hospitals that are in line for higher-speed connectivity once elighbel homes and businesses are covered.

The exact proportions can still fluctuate slightly. States are hammering out their contracts with grant winners, and in some cases the ISPs have refused to sign and locations have had to be rebid.

As of the end of June, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration [had helped](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/roth-ntia-now-targeting-non-deployment-guidance-this-summer/) to find backup plans for about a dozen states in which a provider had backed out.

At the time, at least 54,000 locations had been affected by an ISP pulling out. 

NTIA is [also asking](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/satellite-bead-awards-to-be-reduced/) states to reduce their satellite awards, citing new federal maps that show expanded terrestrial networks or misclassified buildings. 

That [could reduce](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/bead-satellite-locations-could-drop-35-42-analysts-say/) the program’s satellite locations by 35 percent, according to an analysis from the Advanced Communications Law and Policy Institute. 

States [can’t unilaterally alter](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/states-cant-unilaterally-alter-bead-contracts-ntia-says/) existing contracts though, and at least five states had already signed deals with SpaceX and Amazon when the directive came down in July. Whether or not those satellite locations come down will depend on whether the companies agree.

In at least one state, it appeared SpaceX wasn’t on board yet. A Louisiana broadband office [release Wednesday](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/louisiana-excited-by-100-billion-spacex-launch-facility-local-starlink-discounts/) touted the initial NTIA-approved number of SpaceX locations.

Based on NTIA-approved plans from the five states — Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Nebraska — there are 105,111 satellite locations between them.

While fiber accounts for nearly 63 percent of locations served under the program, fiber projects are likely in line for a larger share of the dollars being spent. Fixed wireless and especially satellite are cheaper to deploy. 

Based on states’ draft spending plans, which in some cases were altered before NTIA approval, satellite providers SpaceX and Amazon were in line for a combined $1 billion despite serving 22 percent of the program’s locations. That’s according to a [Connected Nation](https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiMTMyZmRhNzMtNWY5NC00OTlmLTgxNjEtZjA1OTFlNWIxZTE2IiwidCI6IjVhMjNkMTNlLTBhM2UtNDI5MS04ZDMzLTM5N2Y2YTEwZjEwYiJ9&ref=broadbandbreakfast.com) tally.

### *Non-deployment*

Based on the states and territories’ allocations and their approved deployment spending (and accounting for the fact that 2 percent of BEAD allocations can be used for administrative costs), they would collectively have about $22.5 billion left over.

NTIA had been estimating $21 billion would be available for non-deployment uses nationwide. 

NTIA Administrator **Arielle Roth** [told lawmakers](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/roth-ntia-now-targeting-non-deployment-guidance-this-summer/) in June that the agency was planning to release guidance on how those non-deployment funds could be used “this summer.”

The agency did not immediately respond to an inquiry on whether it was updating that timeline.

Under the Biden administration, states had been planning to use the funding for broadband adoption efforts and workforce development, among other things. The Trump administration rescinded approval for those activities in June 2025.

New guidance on how states could use the money was initially due in March. Under an executive order it’s supposed to detail which states will be blocked from accessing their non-deployment money because of AI laws the administration deems overly restrictive.

Many ideas for potential uses have been floated as NTIA prepares the guidance, including boosting local permitting agencies and shoring up defaulted projects.

ISPs are finding [supply chain costs](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/states-working-on-bead-project-costs-permits/) rising, and some state broadband officers said at Mountain Connect this month that they would be willing to consider waivers to increase project support.