The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved the full initial proposals for Mississippi and South Dakota for the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. Mississippi will have access to more than $1.2 billion and South Dakota will have access to more than $207 million to fund BEAD projects. The states can now move to the implementation phase of the BEAD program, during which they can select providers and projects to pass the funding to. Mississippi and South Dakota will have one year to submit a final proposal that details the outcome of the subgrantee selection process and how the state will ensure service to all unserved and underserved locations. 39 jurisdictions have now had their full initial BEAD proposals approved.
