"The award recommendations that the state submitted to NTIA based on the new rules - commonly known as the Benefit of the Bargain - call for just over 50% of locations to be served by fiber or fixed wireless, with the rest going to low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, according to Connected Nation. About 47.6% of the Colorado BEAD total is slated to go to fiber. Fiber's share decreased from what it would have been before rule changes eliminated an initial preference for fiber technology."
"The fiber percentage could have been even lower, however, if the state of Colorado hadn't intervened and opted to cover some project costs. The state contributed $51 million toward project costs, including $35 million to enable fiber projects to come in under the $19,000-per location threshold that NTIA set for the state. The remaining $16 million went toward matching funds. Awardees were required to cover at least 25% of total projects; for some projects, that would have been difficult or impossible without the state's help."
NTIA introduced BEAD cost thresholds, posing challenges for higher-cost states like Colorado. Colorado's Benefit of the Bargain submission allocates just over 50% of locations to fiber or fixed wireless, with about 47.6% slated for fiber and the remainder to LEO satellite. Rule changes removed an initial preference for fiber, reducing fiber's share. The state contributed $51 million from Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set-asides—$35 million to bring fiber projects under the $19,000-per-location threshold and $16 million for matching funds—to help awardees meet the 25% match requirement. Without state intervention, up to 80% of locations might have gone to LEO.
Read at Telecompetitor
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