SHLB, Benton: NTIA Should Reconsider BEAD Rules for Community Anchors
NTIA should consider letting states have the final say about which locations count as community anchor institutions under the BEAD program, the Schools, Health, Libraries & Broadband Coalition and Benton Institute for Broadband & Society said in a letter Monday. The groups raised issue with NTIA's new definition of "community support organizations" because the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made the definition intentionally broad for states to meet local needs.
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NTIA’s BEAD policy and FAQ updates, issued June 6, now require such organizations to be located in government-owned buildings and already offer public internet and digital skills training. That could omit important locations, especially in rural and underserved areas, and block some from receiving BEAD funding, SHLB and Benton argued. They pointed out that the law doesn’t include the stricter requirements and asked NTIA to give states back the flexibility to decide what counts as a community anchor institution. "We urge NTIA to defer to states’ expertise and knowledge of their communities" when making these decisions.