Six states—Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania—issued proposed BEAD awards under new June program rules. Awards remain provisional pending National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approval. Arkansas allocated funding to reach all eligible locations: 76% fiber, 16% low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, 7% licensed fixed wireless, and 1% hybrid, with a $308.3 million grant outlay and substantial savings versus a prior program version. Colorado plans about 60% of locations served by satellite or fixed wireless, with Amazon receiving substantially more funding than SpaceX. Maine had a relatively small BEAD budget and funding details were not fully described.
"Arkansas' total BEAD grant outlay stands at $308.3 million, a savings of more than $275 million compared to the prior version of the program," wrote Arkansas State Broadband Director Glen E. Howie, Jr., in a message accompanying the state's final proposal, which is available for public comment. The biggest winners , measured in dollars, were Hometown Internet and Aristotle Unified Communications, followed by Brightspeed and Comcast. Both LEO operators - SpaceX and Amazon Kuiper - are slated to receive funding.
Recommendations are considerably different in Colorado, where 60% of locations will be served by satellite or fixed wireless, with most of the 60% going toward satellite, according to New Street Research (NSR). Under the initial rules, only 30% of locations would have been served by fixed wireless or satellite, NSR said. Amazon won considerably more funding than SpaceX ($25.3 million versus $9.2 million for Space X).
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