Through its Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program (BEAD) the federal government deployed over $42 billion in order to help provide broadband access to states, territories, and Washington D.C. 

There have certainly been challenges, including slower than anticipated rollout and overlapping grant programs which can result in inefficiencies. A debate also has emerged over whether the money has served Americans in lower-income neighborhoods equitably.

As might be anticipated, there’s been a wide array of success depending on where you live, according to the Fiber Broadband Association and its research partner RVA LLC. in an an early May report:

“By the end of 2024, considerable progress had been made by many types of service providers especially in the center of the country. . . Some regional weakness in penetration can still be seen in many of the western states and in several of the Great Lake area states.”

Some of the more interesting state specific findings show real progress: Fiber to the Home (FTTH) was most available in Rhode Island, where 82 percent of homes qualified up from 58 percent in 2023.

Several of the states in the middle of the country saw very large increases, including North Dakota (from 27.3 percent in 2013 to 81.9 percent in 2024; Nebraska (from 10.6 percent in 2013 to 80.6 percent in 2024) and South Dakota (from 26.4% in 213 to 74.5% in 2024).

Particularly notable was Connecticut, which only had a reach of 2.6 percent in 2013 to 72.5 percent in 2024. According to the Connecticut Broadband Report, even this much progress isn’t enough according to Governor Ned Lamont who was quoted as saying “Expanding broadband has been a team effort, and I’m proud of the progress we are making together.

Still, our mission isn’t complete. We’ll keep working with communities, businesses, and local leaders to guarantee that everyone in Connecticut, no matter where they live, can benefit from the opportunities high-speed internet provides.”

At the other end of the spectrum, the five states that continue to have the lowest reach of fiber to homes – though they continue to improve – are Alaska (not much of a surprise, given the huge land mass of the state), New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Michigan and West Virginia.

#StateandLocalBroadbandManagement #StateandLocalBroadbandReach #StateandLocalBroadbandPerformance #BroadbandEquityAccessandDeploymentProgam #BEADprogram #ItMattersWhereYouLive #MidwestBroadbandExpansion #ConnecticutBroadbandExpansion #RhodeIslandBroadbandExpansion #BroadbandDistributionChallenges #FiberToTheHomeSuccess #FiberBroadbandAssociation #FiberBroadbandProgressReport #StateandLocalManagementNews #StateandLocalBroadbandNews #BarrettandGreeneInc