Update on BEAD Funding Progress

Update on BEAD Funding Progress

We are excited to share that we’ve taken another important step forward in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding process. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Washington State’s final BEAD proposal, unlocking more than $1 billion in federal and state funding to expand high-speed internet access across the state.

With NTIA approval secured, the grant acceptance process is now moving into the final two stages:

• NIST (Information Security) Review
  • This step should be relatively straightforward and ensures compliance with federal information security standards.
• Contract execution between the Washington State Broadband Office and the NTIA
  • Once this contract is finalized, we will be able to move forward with a contract between KPUD and the Washington State Broadband Office and begin implementing our build processes.

KPUD’s preliminary award covers seven of the eight project areas it applied for. When combined into a single large project, KPUD’s award will bring high-speed broadband to almost 4,000 homes across Kitsap County via all fiber builds. The preliminary federal award results in $14.98 million for KPUD (75% of total project cost) supplemented by almost $5 million in matching funds (25% match) via Washington State. We will continue to keep the community informed as we complete these remaining steps and begin building out broadband infrastructure in underserved areas.

For more background on the state’s BEAD approval and what it means for broadband investment in Washington, please visit the following articles:

• Washington State Department of Commerce News
• Washington State Standard Brief