Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program | Department of Economic Development

Description

The Missouri Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program aids entities to deploy broadband service to unserved and underserved areas of the state, and to Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) through competitive grants.

The BEAD Program is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and is administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Do I Qualify?

This is a competitive grant program. The maximum grant award will be $300,000,000.00 in total across a subrecipient’s Round 1 applications.

Eligible entities:

Nonprofit organizations;
Local governments (including any unit, subdivision, authority, or consortium);
Rural electric cooperatives organized under chapter 394 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and their broadbandaffiliates;
Telephone cooperatives, as defined in § 386.020(55); and
Public-private partnerships, with private or nonprofit partners that are registered in this state
Private Companies
Public Utility District (PUD)
Public or Private Utilities

How Do I Apply?

To access the BEAD Scoring Application, applicants must have started or received approval of the BEAD Pre-qualification Application. The BEAD Scoring Application and Pre-qualification Application can be accessed here: Login

Guide to Apply: https://ded.mo.gov/media/pdf/bead-guide-apply

Timeline: OBD will open Round 1 of the BEAD Program on Dec. 5, 2024, and will accept application through Feb. 20, 2025.

Need Help?

Our team is standing by to answer regarding the BEAD Program.

Submit a Question: https://ded.mo.gov/office-broadband-development/contact-form

Subscribe for Updates: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MODED/subscriber/new

Documents

BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 1 (Final Version)

BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 2 - (Final Version)

BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

BEAD Guide to Apply

5 Year Action Plan

Location Coordination Template

Locations List with Associated Application Area

Final Challenge Submission

Non BSL Template

Potential Non BSLs

Pending Funding

Additional BEAD Information

Approved Initial Proposal Volume I and Volume II

Missouri’s Initial Proposal Volume I (governing the state challenge process and BEAD eligibility) and Volume II (governing subgrantee selection for carrying out BEAD broadband deployment projects) have been approved by NTIA.

BEAD Project Area Submission Window Extended, Local Coordination Template Available

DED's Office of Broadband Development (OBD) is extending the window for prospective applicants to submit project areas for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. To allow for further participation, OBD will accept project area submissions through June 14, 2024.

The goal of the RFI process is to generate application areas that can be applied for competitively through the BEAD program. The RFI process allows potential BEAD applicants to indicate the geographic scope of projects for which they may apply for BEAD funding by submitting project areas. Additional project area submission (RFI) information is available on the OBD challenge webpage. Project areas can be submitted through broadbandmap.mo.gov or as shapefiles here.

OBD has also released the Local Coordination Template for the upcoming BEAD Program.

BEAD Initial Proposal, Volumes 1 and 2, Submitted to the NTIA

OBD has submitted Volumes 1 and 2 of its Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The Office of Broadband Development (OBD) has made changes to Volume II of its Initial Proposal for funding through the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program in response to requests from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which must approve the plan before Missouri can begin deploying Missouri’s $1.7 billion BEAD allocation. This document indicates the status of the document as of June 2024, with notes about changes made due to NTIA curing. The final version of Volume II will be published when OBD receives NTIA approval.

The final version of Volume 1, approved by NTIA, is linked above and includes changes from previous documents noted and highlighted.

Files Referenced in Initial Proposal

BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 2 (Public Comment Closed)

Initial Proposal Volume 2 includes the state’s plan for how broadband projects will be awarded and monitored. The comment period for Volume 2 will remain open until December 15, 2023.

BEAD Initial Proposal Volume II Office Hours

BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 1 (Public Comment Closed)

Initial Proposal Volume 1 lays out the process through which OBD determines which locations in the state of Missouri should be eligible for funding through the BEAD program, which will bring improved broadband service to unserved and underserved locations across the state. OBD welcomes comment on the proposed process.

The 30-day comment period on this proposal closed on November 26.

As part of Initial Proposal Volume 1, OBD has drawn on various datasets to create a list of community anchor institutions in the state of Missouri that may be eligible for improved service if they have internet speeds of less than 1 gigabit per second download and upload. The process OBD used to identify these locations is laid out in Initial Proposal Volume 1.

Representatives of community anchor institutions that were not included in the datasets used to produce this list can go to the MoBroadband Digital Asset Map survey and either pick the option to “Add a Digital Asset” or to “Provide information about internet service to a community anchor institution without adding it to the map.”

The public comment survey can also be used by community anchors that appear on the list without speed information to provide information about the speeds available to them. Community anchors will only be treated as BEAD eligible if they fall into one of the categories defined by OBD in the final version of its Initial Proposal.

List of Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs)

Missouri to Receive Over $1.7 Billion in Funding through NTIA for Broadband Expansion (Press Release, June 26, 2023)

BEAD Five-Year Action Plan

The Five-Year Action Plan is a requirement of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The Office of Broadband submitted the final version of the State’s BEAD 5-Year Action Plan to NTIA, the federal agency responsible for the BEAD program, on August 28, 2023. This document provides a high-level outline of how Missouri will invest BEAD funding and other broadband-related resources across the state and highlights the state’s vision, goals, objectives, and strategies to help connect all Missourians to affordable, reliable high-speed internet. The 5-Year plan will inform the state’s BEAD Initial Proposal, which will set the rules governing the BEAD program.

Five Year Action Plan

Pre-Qualification Application

The BEAD Pre-Qualification Application is the first step for potential BEAD Applicants.

The Pre-Qualification Application groups all general and non-scored BEAD application requirements into one application. Allowing applicants to respond one time for these functions. Pre-Qualification Applications will be applied to each of the applicants BEAD Applications. The Pre-Qualification Application must be started prior to filling out BEAD Scoring Applications.

The Pre-Qualification Application includes four sections:

Entity Information
Capability
Public Funding Received
Compliance and Other Program Certifications

REGISTER HERE

This link is where applicants will register as a user in the grant portal before starting the application. Once applicants register in the portal, the OBD team will review and approve registrations on a rolling basis. Once approved, applicants will be able to start the Pre-Qualification Application.