The Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO) is seeking applications for its Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program.
Donor Name: Washington State Broadband Office
State: Washington
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Program
Deadline: 05/16/2025
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 5 Years
Details:
BEAD funds focus on the approved NTIA approved BEAD, which presents the subgrantee selection process, in addition to fulfilling other requirements prescribed by the National Telecommunications and Information and Information Administration (NTIA). The subgrantee selection process details how applicants will be selected to be awarded funds from the nearly $1.2 billion allocated to Washington to expand broadband services. Washington has ambitious goals as part of the “Internet for All in Washington” initiative that include:
- Universal broadband access for every business and household by 2028.
- Equitable economic development through expanded broadband access and adoption across all underserved populations.
- Scalable and sustainable “future proof” broadband infrastructure that meets access and equity goals.
Grant Period
Costs may be incurred from BEAD eligible activities prior to executing a subgrantee award in 2025. BEAD contracts will be issued on a rolling basis. Awardees, by NTIA rule, have six months to execute the contract and four years to complete construction based on the contract execution date with WSBO. NTIA reporting will be for five years during the period of performance.
Uses of Funds
Eligible project activities and costs include:
- Construction, improvement, and/or acquisition of facilities and telecommunications equipment required to provide qualifying broadband service, including infrastructure for backhaul, middle- and last-mile networks, and multi-tenant buildings
- Line of Credit and Performance Bond fees
- Long-term leases (for terms greater than one year) of facilities required to provide qualifying broadband service, including indefeasible right-of-use (IRU) agreements and archeological/historical & cultural review
- Deployment of internet and Wi-Fi infrastructure within an eligible multi-family residential building.
- Acquire wireless license, to qualify:
- Applicant will need to directly relate the expenses in the BEAD project.
- The status of an applicant’s license, and whether the applicant can pass the technical evaluation to provide licensed fixed wireless without a license.
- Engineering design, permitting, and work related to environmental, historical and cultural reviews.
- Personnel costs, including salaries and fringe benefits for staff and consultants providing services directly connected to the implementation of the BEAD Program (such as administration, project managers, program directors, and subject matter experts).
- Capitalized equipment
- Applicants may include a contingency line item in their budget as part of the funding request. This contingency funding, once an applicant is awarded, may be accessed, but is subject to the approval of WSBO prior to incurring such an expense.
- Real property when purchased specifically for the project, and associated costs.
Eligible Projects
- Broadband Infrastructure Projects are eligible for funding under BEAD if the infrastructure is designed to deliver, upon project completion, end user connections that meet or exceed 100 Mbps download, 20 Mbps upload and latency less than or equal to 100 milliseconds.
- Applicants are also encouraged to prioritize investments in fiber-optic infrastructure where feasible, as such advanced technology better supports high-cost areas.
- BEAD awards are to assist in the acquisition, installation and construction of last mile infrastructure that supports broadband services, and to assist in strategic planning for deploying broadband service in unserved and/or underserved areas.
- In selecting an area to be served by a project, applicants are required to avoid investing in business and residential locations that have existing service or a verifiable agreement to build reliable wireline service with minimum speeds of 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload, or anchor institutions receiving service of at least 1 Gbps symmetrical.
Eligibility Criteria
- Units of local government, including but not limited to ports and public utility districts.
- Federally recognized tribes
- Nonprofit organizations
- Nonprofit cooperative organizations
- Public private partnership
- Private companies
- Public or private utilities.
For more information, visit WSBO.
