The BEAD Program will provide a total of $42.45 billion to Eligible Entities (agencies or other bodies chosen in each state and U.S. territory) to distribute to subgrantees for broadband expansion, with a priority for unserved locations,¹ to rural areas.  The BEAD Program will allocate a minimum of $100 million to each state, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and $25 million to each of the four other U.S. territories,² and 10 percent of the total allocation of funds will be distributed based on unserved locations in high-cost areas.³  The bulk of the funding will be allocated to the Eligible Entities on the basis of their share of unserved locations.⁴

Funds will be distributed in three phases.  Eligible entities will receive up to $5 million each for planning efforts.  Once the broadband DATA maps⁵ have been made public, funding will be allocated among the states and they will submit initial broadband plans to NTIA describing their objectives and strategic plans, and identifying unserved locations.  Upon approval, Eligible Entities will receive 20% of the allocated funding.  They will then submit final plans to NTIA with detailed plans for allocation of funding, implementation, oversight, and accountability.  When these final plans are approved, Eligible Entities will receive the rest of the allocated funds.