On September 3, 2026, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that a new round of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD funding will be initiated to enable states to address locations that may remain unserved. By way of background, please note the following:
* As discussed in the June 11, 2025 edition of the ICORE Blog, on June 6, 2025, NTIA issued a Policy Notice outlining extensive changes to the BEAD Program as defined in the original BEAD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The Policy Notice outlined extensive changes to the NOFO in the areas of technology neutrality, labor and workforce development, climate change requirements, net neutrality requirements, local coordination and stakeholder engagement, municipal broadband providers, backdoor rate regulation, and environmental reviews. Per the Policy Notice, NTIA required that Eligible Entities conduct at least one additional subgrantee selection round referred to as the “Benefit of the Bargain Round”. Eligible Entities were provided 90 days from the date of the Policy Notice to comply with the Notice’s requirements and to submit a Final Proposal that reflects the results of the Benefit of the Bargain Round.
* As discussed in the March 5, 2026 ICORE Blog, on February 9, 2026, NTIA announced that as a result of the Benefit of the Bargain Round, the costs related to broadband deployment for the BEAD Program were reduced by an estimated $21 billion dollars, approximately half of the total funding allocated to the BEAD Program. In addition, it was announced that NTIA would convene a listening session with stakeholders to gather input on how best to utilize these savings to maximize the BEAD Program’s benefit to consumers and taxpayers.
* On August 25, 2026, NTIA announced that it has approved Final BEAD Program Proposals for all 56 states and territories consistent with the Benefit of the Bargain requirements.
The new round of BEAD funding announced on September 3, 2026, is intended to allow states to address locations that may remain unserved, including those that were affected by changes in previous federal and state broadband programs. The 9/3/26 announcement references significant public input into how best to use the savings achieved through the Benefit of the Bargain Round. Significant input was received as to the need to connect locations that were identified after the submission of Eligible Entities’ Final Proposals. The new funding round will allow states and territories to address newly identified unserved locations that were not included in the FCC’s National Broadband Map, as well as other locations that have become eligible as a result of defaults or changes in previous federal and state broadband programs and misreporting by providers. The 9/3/26 announcement is accompanied by a Supplemental Deployment Policy Notice which emphasizes the importance of ensuring that the savings from the Benefit of the Bargain Round are used in a manner consistent with the objectives of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to provide broadband availability throughout the United States. NTIA states that it will continue to consider other uses for Benefit of the Bargain Round savings which will be addressed in subsequent guidance.
