More than 500 applications from nearly 30 eligible entities came in for the Washington State Broadband Office’s hugely popular Benefit of the Bargain (BotB) Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) WSBO 25-03.
Applications closed July 23. The team is reviewing applications to ensure they meet the program’s requirements. Early data from the applications indicates strong interest in building broadband networks across the state to ensure everyone has access to high-speed internet.
By the numbers
- 555 applications from 29 different eligible entities, with proposed projects across the technology spectrum, including fiber, cable, low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite, licensed, licensed-by-rule, and unlicensed fixed wireless
- 15 eligible entities requested that their earlier application round submissions be transferred and evaluated in the BotB round, resulting in an additional 113 applications
- All 232 project areas received at least one application
- 213 of the 232 project areas received two or more applications
The BotB was open to cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, private companies, public and private utilities, public utility districts, and local and tribal governments.
To meet new federal requirements, this NOFO included all areas that received a preliminary award in the first and second application cycles. The new federal guidelines required WSBO to rescind the preliminary awards. Previous applicants could use their applications from earlier rounds or update them before submission.
Project applicants must serve areas identified and approved through the BEAD process. Commerce posted BEAD construction project area maps that detail unserved and underserved locations across the state eligible for BEAD funding. View project area maps.
What’s next
The BotB round comes after WSBO completed two previous application rounds. Read about the massice application interest in Round 1 and Round 2. In the BotB round, each of the 232 project areas across the state received at least one application. WSBO will now work through direct negotiation for project areas that do not have a priority project application to ensure the highest-quality access to broadband service possible for all residents.
The state’s final proposal deadline is Sept. 4, when WSBO will send the list of potential awardees to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for final approval. In late August, a draft of the final proposal will be open for public comment for seven days. WSBO will send another message when the comment period opens and post the draft on the Internet for All page.
Once the NTIA approves, WSBO will formally announce awards and fund BEAD projects statewide. The new guidance sets a 90-day deadline for the NTIA to complete its review, which could push the NTIA approval into December.
About BEAD
The BEAD program aims to get all Americans online by funding partnerships between states or territories, tribal nations, communities, internet providers and other stakeholders to increase high-speed internet adoption. The federal program provides over $42 billion for infrastructure planning and implementation nationwide. Learn more about Commerce’s BEAD work on our Internet for All page. Washington received $1.2 billion of the total available for states. There is no federal freeze on BEAD funding, and we continue to work closely with our state and federal partners on this work.
