BEAD Program Surety Bond Information Kit

NASBP and SFAA have compiled and published the Surety Bond Information Kit (Kit) for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The Kit addresses the announcement of the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce to allow surety bonds as an alternative form of security to letters of credit (LOCs) for the BEAD Program. Read the July 2024 press release announcement.

The surety industry responded to this announcement by creating a Surety Industry Working Group to develop performance bonds and model language to meet the BEAD Program’s surety requirements.

The BEAD Bond Kit, which is available in Word-fillable documents, includes two performance bond forms, model language for state broadband offices to insert into award agreements, and a sample letter template to confirm for state broadband offices the bond amount for which an internet service provider or its construction contractor initially qualifies.

The Kit is the product of years of NASBP advocacy work to educate the various agencies about the benefits of offering surety bonds as an alternative form of security to LOCs. Attendees of past Federal Legislative Fly-ins have, in part, focused their messaging on adding commonsense surety protection in the form of bonding requirements to the principal federal funding programs for broadband infrastructure projects. #BondsforBEAD

BEAD Program Panel Discussion at NASBP Fall Meetings

Broadband, and specifically the Broadband Equity Access Deployment (BEAD) Program, is featured during a panel discussion at the 2024 NASBP Fall Meetings. Panelists are prepared to discuss the particulars of the BEAD Bond Kit. The Kit is a valuable resource for use by NASBP members who soon may receive inquiries from ISPs seeking to bid on BEAD construction projects.

Register for the NASBP West Meeting, held September 11-13 in Carlsbad, CA, and the NASBP East Meeting, held September 25-27 in New Orleans, LA, to see the BEAD Program panel discussion..

2023 Federal Broadband Funding Report

Every year the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) is mandated to submit an annual report to Congress regarding the steps the agency is taking to expand internet service for the nation. Highlights in the “2023 Federal Broadband Funding Report” include spending data from 12 agencies across 70 federal high-speed Internet programs.

The Report indicates $64.3 billion appropriated for high-speed internet initiatives in FY22, while federal agencies reported $11.4 billion in obligations for high-speed internet infrastructure deployment in FY22. In addition, federal broadband outlays (spent by the program) grew by 120% from FY21 to FY22, from $6.7 billion to $14.7 billion.