ADECA Responds to NTIA’s BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice
June 17, 2025
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a “Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Restructuring Policy Notice” (Policy Notice) on June 6, 2025. ADECA will host a webinar on Friday, June 20th at 8:30 a.m. CT to discuss Alabama’s BEAD program changes in compliance with NTIA’s BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice. The primary purpose of the webinar will be to instruct providers that are not currently prequalified on how to prequalify to participate in Alabama’s BEAD Subgrantee Selection Process. Please register for the webinar here.
Prequalification process
ADECA will reopen its prequalification process on Friday, June 20, 2025. Completion of a prequalification application is mandatory to participate in Alabama’s BEAD program.
If you are already prequalified, you do not need to submit another Prequalification Application. Your prequalified status will remain in place. ADECA will disregard the responses you submitted to any questions in the earlier Prequalification Phase that have been eliminated in compliance with the NTIA’s Policy Notice. A list of the prequalified providers can be found below.
If you are not on the list, you must follow the process outlined below to be eligible to participate in Alabama’s BEAD Subgrantee Selection Process:
- A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is required to access the BEAD Prequalification Application. Request the required NDA by emailing the name, title, and email address of your organization’s CEO to broadband.fund@adeca.alabama.gov with the subject line “BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Prequalification.”
- Follow the instructions ADECA emails in response to execute and return the required NDA.
- Once ADECA receives the executed NDA, ADECA will ask you to provide the names, titles, and email addresses of up to three people from your organization whom ADECA will invite to complete the Prequalification Application and grant access to the folder designated by ADECA for your prequalification upload.
- Follow the instructions in the revised BEAD Prequalification Application User Guide to be published on the website on Friday, June 20, 2025, to complete the Prequalification Application packet and upload it to the folder designated by ADECA.
Please note that NTIA’s required timelines are highly expedited. It is critical that providers wishing to participate in the BEAD Program complete Prequalification Applications as soon as possible. Also, please be aware that ADECA may not have time to conduct a curing process for applications that are incomplete or non-responsive; it is critical that your NDA and application are complete and accurate.
Application process
In compliance with the Policy Notice, ADECA is updating the BEAD Subgrantee Selection Application materials. Information on application opening will follow as soon as it is available.
ADECA will host a webinar to update you on the restructured application process as soon as possible.
Additional information
ADECA will continue to update its website with additional information and guidance including a new FAQ that will be posted twice weekly.
Please email Broadband.Fund@adeca.alabama.gov with any questions.
Notice to Unlicensed Fixed Wireless (ULFW) providers serving Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSL) that are eligible for BEAD funding
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a “Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program Restructuring Policy Notice” (Policy Notice) on June 6, 2025.
In compliance with the Policy Notice, ADECA notes the following:
If you are an ULFW provider that has reported service to BEAD-eligible locations in Alabama in the FCC’s Broadband Data Collection system with technology code 70, and you believe the performance of your ULFW service meets the technical specifications for BEAD performance as documented in the Policy Notice (Appendix A), then you must notify ADECA at broadband.fund@adeca.alabama.gov within seven calendar days of this posting dated June 12, 2025 if you intend to submit evidence that BEAD funding is not required for the locations you serve.
After submitting your notification of intent to submit evidence, you then have seven calendar days to submit the evidence required “supporting the claim that the existing ULFW services meet the same technical and service standards required for a ULFW application for a BEAD subgrant (see Appendix A of [the Policy Notice]) and the provider is reasonably capable of delivering the service for at least four years after the date of Final Proposal submission.” [Policy Notice, p. 14.]
NTIA has provided standards of proof in Appendix A of the Policy Notice. These “Unlicensed Fixed Wireless Service Requirements” include:
- The list of locations for which the provider has proof of BEAD-qualified service
- Evidence of network design, equipment, and strategy for mitigating interference
- Evidence that all submitted locations can meet minimal BEAD performance requirements of 100/20 Mbps speed and latency of no more than 100ms and reserve sufficient capacity in the network for simultaneous provision of service at BEAD speeds and spikes in interference
Please note that, because NTIA’s Policy Notice requires ADECA to complete this process, execute a new BEAD subgrantee selection round, and submit the results under the new rules within 90 days of the Policy Notice (June 6, 2025), there will be no time for curing ULFW evidence submissions. Please carefully review the Policy Notice guidance and submit your evidence in compliance with the requirements. Improper or inadequate submissions may result in ADECA rejecting your submission in full or in part which will impact the funding status of these BEAD locations.
Templates and instructions are available upon request.
Due to new guidelines published by NTIA, we are pausing our BEAD Subgrantee Selection Process, and we are suspending the Monday, June 9, 2025, deadline. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
Alabama’s BEAD Subgrantee Selection Process is now open.
For information on how to prequalify to be eligible to apply, please visit here.
For information on the BEAD Application NDA, please visit here.
To view our training webinars on the Subgrantee Selection Process, please visit here.
Additionally, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions here.
If you have additional questions, please email broadband.fund@adeca.alabama.gov.
DRAFT BEAD Subgrantee Selection Application Materials
Please be advised, the BEAD Subgrantee Selection Application materials provided below are in draft form. The applications, templates, and guide are subject to change. The final applications, templates, and guide are available in the application portal.
DRAFT ADECA BEAD Application User Guide
DRAFT ADECA BEAD Application – Priority v2
DRAFT ADECA BEAD Application – Non-Priority v2
DRAFT ADECA BEAD Application – Alternative Technology v2
DRAFT 08.2B Consortium Members Template
DRAFT 11.4 Logical Network Diagram Sample
DRAFT 11.6 Technical Specifications Template
DRAFT 11.7 Project Timeline Template
DRAFT 11.8 Project Costs Template
DRAFT 11.8A Budget Narrative Template
DRAFT 11.9 Professional Engineer Certification Template
DRAFT 11.11A Fixed Wireless Design Submission Template
DRAFT 11.12A LEO Satellite Design Submission Template
DRAFT 12.4A Past Performance and Experience Template
DRAFT 12.7A Other Public Funding Template
DRAFT 13.3 Letter of Commitment Template
DRAFT 13.3 Surety Bond Template
DRAFT 13.4 Pro Forma Template ADECA
DRAFT 14.2 Certification and Licenses Template
DRAFT 15.1A Ownership Information Template
DRAFT In-Kind Matching Funds Template
DRAFT Match-Eligible Federal Sources Template
ADECA BEAD Subgrantee Selection Webinars
ADECA held a webinar on May 1, 2025, to discuss the application curing process and the process/methodology for negotiations with potential applicants. It can be found here.
ADECA held a webinar on April 24, 2025, to share programs and plans to impacted county leadership. This included specific location counts for each area. It can be found here.
ADECA will also host individual technical assistance webinars for the counties with the highest number of BEAD eligible broadband serviceable locations (BSLs). More information on these webinars will be provided soon.
ADECA held a webinar on April 17, 2025, to discuss specifics of BEAD Compliance & Monitoring. It can be found here.
ADECA held a webinar on April 3, 2025, to discuss specifics of the BEAD subgrantee application and an overview of the online portal. It can be found here.
ADECA held a webinar on March 20, 2025, to conduct a preliminary review of the DRAFT application materials. It can be found here.
ADECA held a webinar on March 27, 2025, to provide an outline of how the BEAD process will progress from applications to awards. It can be found here.
BEAD Pre-Qualified Broadband Providers
- Amazon Kuiper Commercial Servies LLC
- Ardmore Telephone Company
- Bellsouth Telecommunications Company
- Central Alabama Electric Cooperative (CAEC)
- Comcast Cable Communications Management, LLC
- Conexon Connect, LLC
- Connect Holding II LLC d/b/a Brightspeed
- Cox Communications
- Creek Enterprises/Gulf Stream Fiber
- Cullman Electric Cooperative
- Farmers Telecommunications Corporation
- Fiber Utility Network, Inc. d.b.a. Alabama Fiber Network
- Hayneville Telephone Company, Inc.
- IBT Group USA, LLC
- Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Corporation
- LiveOak Fiber, LLC
- Lyte Fiber, LLC
- Mediacom LLC
- Millry Telephone Company, Inc.
- MTC Long Distance, Inc.
- Pine Belt Telephone Company
- Point Broadband Fiber Holding, LLC
- Premier Holding, LLC
- Public Service Telephone Company
- R.M. Greene, Inc.
- SP Broadband, Inc.
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
- Spectrum Southeast, LLC
- Tombigbee Electric Cooperative, Inc.
- Troy Cablevision Inc. dba C-Spire
- West Kentucky Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Inc.
- Windstream Alabama, LLC
- Yellowhammer Networks, LLC
Completion of a prequalification application is mandatory to participate in Alabama’s BEAD program. All potential subrecipients are encouraged to complete the prequalification process as early as possible. Please see below for additional information, and see the recording of our Prequalification Application Webinar here.
BEAD Prequalification Application Materials
BEAD Prequalification Application Guide
Alabama Prequalification Checklist
How To Complete Broadband Registration Online and Sign the NDA
BEAD Prequalification Application NDA
ADECA BEAD Subgrantee Process FAQs
Challenge Process Results
The Alabama Digital Expansion Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is pleased to announce the Eligible broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) that will be available for funding under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program formed under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). These locations are the result of a combination of multiple efforts to ensure BEAD funds are not awarded to locations with existing or planned broadband facilities providing at least 100/20 Mbps service.
In addition to completing the BEAD Challenge Process and receiving NTIA approval for all Challenge Final Determinations on 1/16/25, ADECA has also removed the following Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) in accordance with NTIA’s latest Final Proposal guidance version 1.2:
- Any locations not appearing in the latest version of the fabric
- Any locations with documented Enforceable Commitments
- Capital Projects Fund (CPF) Round 1
- ReConnect
- Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF)
Lastly, please note that some locations are categorized as “indicated” on the .csv files. These locations are CONDITIONALLY AWARDED as part of ADECA’s CPF2 program but are not yet contracted. An applicant is allowed to enter these locations as part of their proposal but should be aware that they will be removed from the final award pending a successful contract execution by the CPF2 awardee.
Data Download
The files below show the post-Challenge Process final classification of each unserved and underserved location, after adjustment, as well as BEAD-eligible Community Anchor Institutions.
AL BEAD Eligible Locations – Feb. 11, 2025
AL BEAD Eligible CAIs – April 2, 2025
ADECA hosted a webinar on February 20, 2025 to review the BEAD project areas and this list of eligible BEAD locations. The recording can be found on the Broadband Webinars and Workshops page.
Disclaimer
This project is sponsored by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, under Assistance Listing 11.035. This document was prepared by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs using Federal funds under award 01-20-B093_2 from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
