Broadband Deployment Updates

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BEAD was established as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure and Investment in Jobs Act (IIJA) aimed at boosting broadband deployment across the nation and addressing the digital divide.

In a big win for NMHC, language the industry supported was included that specifically granted eligibility for funding to low-income multifamily properties to deploy or upgrade broadband infrastructure or provided reduced or free broadband service to residents.

Read on for the latest updates related to this topic.

March 20, 2023

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HUD Releases New High-Speed Internet Guide as BEAD Nears Disbursement

On March 20, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a new guidebook for government and nongovernment stakeholders to consider when implementing high-speed internet service projects.

What This Means: The guide was announced following the release of three Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to distribute over $45 billion to states, territories and tribes to fund broadband infrastructure through the BEAD Program.

Industry Implications: The guide seeks to support multifamily owners and operators, public housing authorities, and tribes in understanding the requirements of the programs and how the funding will benefit their communities. While the guide is focused on public housing authorities and HUD supported properties, much of it also applies to privately owned low-income housing communities which were made eligible for the funding by Congress. Importantly, the guide includes information on how to contact state and local broadband offices and advocate for multifamily broadband funding as each state program is stood up.

Dec. 16, 2022

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Where is the Broadband Money?

There has been significant, albeit, slow progress in Washington and throughout the country in establishing program rules and distribution protocols for the historic broadband deployment funding that was included as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

What This Means: In total, $42.5 billion in federal funding will be distributed through state and local broadband offices to bring broadband service to places where it doesn’t exist today or in locations considered underserved (inadequate or obsolete service). Low-income multifamily communities or those with a high percentage of unserved residents were made eligible to receive broadband deployment funding by Congress and the NTIA has reaffirmed this eligibility.

Industry Implications: NMHC has called for multifamily properties located in high-poverty areas to be automatically designated as unserved unless a broadband provider can prove otherwise. This designation would enable these properties to receive deployment funding under BEAD to install or update broadband infrastructure, install property-wide Wi-Fi or even allow property owners to offer free or reduced cost service to residents.

NMHC's Viewpoint: NMHC has joined with other No Home Left Offline Coalition members and state and local stakeholders in pushing back at the FCC over these issues and have asked the FCC to suspend the current challenge process for multifamily properties and develop a process that supports the high priority status given to them by Congress and the NTIA.

Dive deeper into an update from NMHC’s Kevin Donnelly on the status of these funds >>>

Kevin Donnelly kdonnelly@nmhc.org