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Lead Tennessee Radio features conversations with the leaders who are moving Tennessee forward. Topics include rural development, broadband, technology, legislation, policy and more. The podcast is produced by the Tennessee Broadband Association.
Intro:
The following program is brought to you by the Tennessee
Broadband Association.
Lead Tennessee Radio, conversations with the leaders moving our
state forward.
We look at the issues shaping Tennessee's future: rural
development, public policy, broadband,
healthcare, and other topics impacting our communities.
Andy Johns:
Thank you for listening to this episode of Lead Tennessee Radio.
Our guest today is Brooke Coleman, who is the account manager
with Nokia for the state of Tennessee.
Brooke, thanks so much for joining me.
Brooke Coleman:
Absolutely. Thanks for having me.
Andy Johns:
I'm your guest host Andy Johns with Pioneer.
And on this episode, we're going to be talking about the BEAD
program and kind of getting the latest updates and timelines that
are available.
Brooke gave a session this morning at the Tennessee Broadband
Association conference here in Franklin, Tennessee,
and updated everybody on the progress and in some areas, lack of
progress, but kind of everything going on the
BEAD program. Brooke, let's start off with kind of defining.
What do we mean when people say BEAD?
Brooke Coleman:
Yeah. So it's a program of $42 billion that has, you know, kind
of been out there and around for the last few years.
So folks have been talking about it, but things are really
starting to come to fruition.
You know, I like to say the train has left the station and the
train is gathering speed as we go.
The BEAD program stands for Broadband Equity Access and
Deployment.
And like I said, it's $42 billion of federal funds.
Andy Johns:
That's a lot.
Brooke Coleman:
It's, you know, it's a couple of dollars here and there, but it
is the biggest funding program that we've had in this industry.
So it's a big deal.
It has taken a long time to get to where we are.
But like I said, the train has left the station, and it is
federal funding coming down from the NTIA, which then goes down
to the states, and the states have all been allocated a certain
dollar amount that they can then distribute to internet service
providers, municipalities, electric co-ops, folks that provide
internet service to their communities.
So, you know, at a high level, folks who are applying to this
program will need to provide service of
100/20mbps. But fiber is a priority for this program.
So we believe that, you know, majority, 80% of applications are
going to be fiber projects.
Those areas that are really hard to serve and really high cost
will have the potential to be fixed wireless access or some other
alternative technology.
But we're really anticipating a lot of fiber projects to be
underway.
Andy Johns:
I know a lot of folks will be happy to hear that, based on some
of the awards for RDOF and some of the other, you know, that
fiber priority, I'm sure is big for a lot of folks.
Brooke Coleman:
It is. It's very, very big for the industry.
And, you know, really the the focus of this program is to
provide internet to all.
And that's one of the challenges with this program is there's
going to be 5 or 10 locations here or there that need to be
served. And those are the hardest to reach locations.
So to serve those locations with fiber is going to be life
changing for some of these folks, to have that high speed
internet access is going to be really important for them to
access modern day society.
Andy Johns:
Now, the fascinating thing about this one, I say fascinating.
For some, it could be frustrating.
For some, you know, however you look at it, I guess.
It's not one train leaving the station.
It's really 50 trains leaving the station for every state.
And then I guess some of the territories as well.
So 50 plus trains leaving 50 plus stations on 50 plus different
timelines and schedules.
I mean, it's all over the place based on I think you said
Montana and Louisiana are going to be some of the first states to
open things up.
And then it's going to be, it's a lot of money.
So I don't want to say trickle, but I mean, it's kind of
trickling out over the next several months to even years.
Brooke Coleman:
Yeah. That's right. And that's a really good, good point.
It is 50 different trains with 50 different paths.
Every state has a different, you know, set of rules.
They all sort of follow the same standard from the federal
level, but each state does have the flexibility to make
individual changes.
And those can be seen in the state's volume two's, which is
documentation that is out there for all the states, which brings
me to the point that 40, we're sitting here, it's October 22nd,
and 49 –
Andy Johns:
That's important because this stuff is changing.
So by the time this comes out, it may be a little different.
So as of right now, October 22nd.
Yes. Good point.
Brooke Coleman:
As of today, 49 states have been approved for their volume two.
The one state that has not is, of course, Texas.
Texas, being the special state that it is, is going to be the
last to get that final approval.
But what that means is all of those 49 states will have 365 days
to submit their final
proposal to the NTIA.
That final proposal will need to have the proposed grant winners
in it before they can move forward with their
BEAD projects. So we have a long road to go, but the road is is
getting shorter, and we can see the light at the end of the
tunnel.
Andy Johns:
There you go. All sorts of transportation metaphors, I like it.
We'll stick with that. There is a little bit of difference
between states.
We talked primarily at this conference here since we're at the
Tennessee Broadband Association, Kentucky Rural Broadband
Association Joint Fall Conference, which is a mouthful, but
we're talking primarily about Tennessee and Kentucky.
But generally speaking, folks will have a, you know, some kind
of letter or some way of indicating that they're interested in
applying. And when I say, folks, I mean the broadband providers
after that initial piece there, that'll have to be approved, then
they're sending, you know, specific areas that they're asking
for.
All of those pieces once they're approved by the state as
winners, then that's when it goes into that plan that you're
talking about. I know I'm oversimplifying it, but there's so
many steps to it before it ever gets to that plan that you're
talking about, that the states will be sending on to the feds?
Brooke Coleman:
Yes. Yeah. No. That's correct.
And so a lot of states do have a pre-qualification period.
Or in Tennessee, for example, they have that letter of intent
saying that you intend to apply to the BEAD program.
This helps the broadband offices get prepared, understand how
many applications they can expect to see.
If they can get folks pre-qualified, it helps get some of the
paperwork out of the way before the actual applications come in.
But yes, then there's the application process.
There's going to be a lot of negotiation back and forth to get
those final locations finalized, and then submit that
documentation to the NTIA with the final proposal.
You know, then give or take three months, the NTIA has to review
those final proposals, give their final blessing, and then once
those final proposals are approved, then folks can, you know,
start moving forward with their projects.
Andy Johns:
And I guess folks have been hearing about BEAD, at least those of
us who are in the industry, have been hearing about BEAD for a
long time. And in some ways it feels like, well, we've still got
so much to do.
What have they been doing for so long?
Most of it comes down to mapping and then challenges to maps is
my understanding so far, right?
Brooke Coleman:
Yes. The mapping challenge process has been a lot.
A lot for the state broadband office, a lot for internet service
providers to provide all the correct data, and there's a lot of
back and forth to try to get these maps right.
And I know it's frustrating, but I think it's really important.
It's critical that we get these maps right or else this program
isn't going to be successful.
We have to provide internet service to all.
That's the point of this program.
But in order to know who those all locations are, we have to
have accurate maps.
And it has been a challenge.
But I think, you know, with every iteration and every piece of
documentation, they get better and better every time.
And it will never be perfect.
You know, there's going to be a neighborhood that pops up here
or there.
There's going to be an abandoned farmhouse or an abandoned barn
that shows up as a location.
It won't be perfect, but we need to do the best that we can in
order to make sure our taxpayer dollars get to do the job that
they're meant to do.
Andy Johns:
Sure, there's been a lot of discussion because the goal of this
is, as I understand, is both underserved and unserved folks, so
that the folks unserved being they don't have any broadband
service at all.
Underserved, meaning they have it, but it's not really up to the
standards that are outlined in this program.
So is my understanding correct there, that this is for both
unserved and underserved and all that fits into the map?
Brooke Coleman:
Yes, absolutely.
So the first priority of the program is the unserved locations.
So that is, you know, the state broadband office has to make
sure unserved gets served.
Then the second priority is those underserved locations, which
is less than 100/20mbps.
And a lot of states, I believe will meet those first two
priorities with the funds that they have.
There may be 1 or 2 states that that's going to be a struggle.
Probably Texas being one of them, as usual.
Yes, they have the most amount of money, but they also have the
most high cost and the most unserved locations, which is why they
have, you know, all of that money.
But then, you know, the third priority is community anchor
institutions and providing gigabit service to those community
anchor institutions.
Andy Johns:
Such as schools?
Brooke Coleman:
Hospitals, government buildings, those types of things.
And then after that, shall a state be able to meet that
requirement, then the fourth priority is non-deployment projects
like use and adoption.
So you know there are some states North Dakota, some small
states up in the northeast that have fiber everywhere.
Andy Johns:
Right.
Brooke Coleman:
And their states are pretty well served.
They only have a handful of eligible locations.
So instances like that, you know, they may use the BEAD dollars
for those non-deployment projects.
Andy Johns:
Interesting. And those non-deployment projects, obviously we're
probably talking about a small percentage there, but those can be
things you said, like adoption.
So that's education, that's, you know, trying to get folks to
take advantage of the fiber networks that's there?
Brooke Coleman:
Exactly. And, you know, digital inclusion, making sure folks are
educated on the internet and how to use it, and to make sure that
that folks are utilizing it in ways that make sense.
Andy Johns:
Perfect. One of the other requirements, and I know that, as you
mentioned, there are certain federal requirements that have to be
met by the states.
And I don't know if we have a sheep sound effect or not.
You had the picture of the sheep in your presentation, but one
of them is is BABA.
Brooke Coleman:
That's right.
Andy Johns:
Tell me a little bit about BABA.
Brooke Coleman:
Yeah. So it is not a sheep.
Even though I think of a sheep every time that it gets brought
up.
But BABA is Build America By America, and so that is one of the
compliance, you know, rules and regulations around this program
is that is unique in comparison to other broadband programs of
the past.
And folks that are applying to this program and that do get
awards will have to make sure that their equipment
meets those standards.
Now, there is a waiver that has been approved by the NTIA across
the board for this program, that there are some products that are
waived, meaning they don't have to fulfill the BABA
requirements.
And there are some products that do have to fulfill the BABA
compliance requirements.
Andy Johns:
And when we're talking about products, we're talking about
individual components in the supply chain or in the pieces needed
to build the network.
Brooke Coleman:
Correct. Correct.
So, you know, one example being the the electronics that are
needed for your network.
The IP core equipment, you know, the IP edge and aggregation
gear routing and switching, that's
waived. You do not have to meet BABA requirements for that.
However OLTs, OLT line cards, optic pluggables and standalone
ONTs do need to meet
the BABA requirements that are in the waiver.
So there are a handful of manufacturers out there that have been
BABA certified.
The processes of self certification, and the manufacturer has to
create and post a website that
identifies which products are BABA certified and compliant and
with those part numbers.
And the NTIA is is hosting a website that lists those vendors
and links to their website so you can figure out which products
are BABA compliant.
Andy Johns:
So I imagine the vendors are happy to help with that
documentation part of that too.
That's not necessarily all on the, I mean, the liability may be
all on the side of the ISP, but the vendors I'm sure are happy to
help provide that documentation and everything.
Brooke Coleman:
Yeah. So absolutely, the requirements for submitting, or the
documentation that's going to be required, is a BABA
certification letter.
Some states you'll have to submit that letter prior in your
grant application.
Other states like Tennessee, you won't have to submit that BABA
certification letter until post award, until after you've been
awarded funds.
Andy Johns:
Like we said, 50 different trains, 50 different conductors.
Everybody doing things a little bit different sounds like.
Brooke Coleman:
Yes.
Andy Johns:
Let's talk about the timelines.
Now that we've talked about, you know, the components of some of
their requirements because those are all over the place a little
bit as well.
As I understand it, like we said, Louisiana, Montana are early
on.
Tennessee and Kentucky, I won't say behind.
I'll just say on a different schedule.
Brooke Coleman:
Middle of the pack.
Andy Johns:
Yeah, yeah. Because everybody's got, all the states are different
sizes, different amounts awarded.
You know, they started at different times.
But what are you seeing right now in terms of where are the
different states are?
And then what that timeline even looks like once they do get
going?
You know, it sounds like we're going to have some awards given
out, or at least announced as early as November
for some of the states.
Brooke Coleman:
Yeah. So Louisiana, you know, for example, ever since the start,
they've always been ahead of the game.
And we are anticipating in the next couple of weeks that they
will post their preliminary awards.
So what that means is they outline who they intend to give the
grant funding to and what those projects look like.
But those are preliminary because they need to be approved by
the NTIA and get that NTIA blessing before their, you know,
official awards.
But as far as timeline goes, you know, we're estimating that
Louisiana
will issue their final awards in quarter one of 2025.
Give or take, you know, approximately nine states will issue
their final awards by quarter two of 2025.
And then, you know, the big chunk of the states, about 24
states, we anticipate will announce those final awards in quarter
three of 2025.
And that's just sort of based on when the state's final
proposals are due.
There is a firm date out there.
Louisiana, for example, is December 15th of this year of 2024.
Their final proposal is due.
So then, you know, add on three months for the NTIA to review
and approve that final proposal that gets us to where we want to
be or to where that state is going to have those final awards
announced.
And again, it's just a high level estimation based on that final
proposal date.
But, you know, once final awards are announced, let's talk
Tennessee and Kentucky.
That's quarter three of this year.
It's going to, you know, be six months before, you know, things
can really start to happen.
As we have all seen, this program is slow.
It does take a lot of review and approvals before things can
happen.
So I do think it's going to be 2026 before we really start
seeing the construction and these networks starting to be
built.
Andy Johns:
Now, what are you hearing from folks?
I know that you work with a number of different broadband
providers here as well.
You know, I had gotten the sense from some of the conferences
that, you know, there are states where it is fairly well built
out. There are a lot of broadband providers that are kind of
landlocked.
They built everywhere. That makes sense.
There are other folks that it's, you know, the funding is
fantastic, but there are so many requirements to it that at least
some folks earlier this year were kind of hitting the brakes.
Some broadband providers were hitting the brakes on jumping in.
What kind of participation rate or what are you hearing just in
terms of how many folks in the rural broadband provider, kind of
the small and independent providers like are here at the
Tennessee Broadband Association?
Are most folks getting in?
Are folks a little hesitant?
What are you hearing from folks?
Brooke Coleman:
It's a mixed bag, I would say.
But in the presentation this morning I was also curious about
that with this audience.
So I put a poll out there and, you know, had an interactive
presentation and polled people and said, you know, is your
company planning to apply?
Yes or no? And the majority of the answers were yes.
There were a few no's.
So I think it's, you know, it's either yes, they're going all
in, and they're going to go for it.
But there are a handful of folks who have said no, they are not
going to participate.
It's not a good fit for them.
And that makes sense.
You know, you have to look at what's best for your business.
And you know, what's the best business case for you.
But I will say, you know, this is a lot of money.
Somebody will get it.
It may be you, it may be somebody else, but someone will go
after this funding.
So it's also a strategic program.
You know, if you go after this funding, you essentially block
out somebody else from going after that funding and getting into
your territory. So you have to think about it strategically.
But there are a handful.
I want to say it was 15 folks said yes, and five said no.
So the majority of folks are definitely looking at this program
to go after.
So like I said, someone will get this money.
Andy Johns:
I wouldn't necessarily say that's super scientific, but it's
something.
So yeah, I think it definitely shows the there's interest.
I'm glad you brought up the survey that you had because it was a
very nice, very nicely done.
The way that the software you used with some live interaction
from the audience, one of the other questions is where I was
going to go with the last question here.
So let's spin it forward.
We've got billions and billions of dollars coming out.
Nothing like that happens without all kinds of ripple effects.
Brooke Coleman:
Correct.
Andy Johns:
One of the ones that you put up there was asking them about
concerns.
I don't know if it was concerns, but kind of looking ahead at
2025, what were some of the things that were on people's minds,
maybe worrying them, maybe not.
As I remember the labor or workforce shortage was number one.
Talk to me just a little bit about, and maybe it's getting,
maybe it's asking you to get the crystal ball out too much, but
what are some of the things that we feel like is pretty safe to
assume the ripple effects of this are going to be over the next
couple of years in the broadband space.
Brooke Coleman:
Yeah. And I don't know if we'll see the ripple effects in '25,
but I do think we'll start seeing the ripple effects in 2026.
And you know, those are (1) workforce.
You're going to, you know, we are a small industry.
We're strong, small but mighty.
But there's only so many folks out there who can, you know,
splice fiber and build these networks and engineer these
networks. So when you're talking about billions and billions of
dollars and these, you know, massive projects that are going to
go underway nationwide, there are going to be workforce
shortages.
You know, that's been discussed since the start of this program.
So I think that's why it's important to know where the other
states are at in the process, to know where your state, where
your workforce, where your contractors are going to be.
You know, in a trickle effect of that may be labor costs might
increase.
There's going to be supply and demand is a real thing.
You know, if you want your construction crew to build your
project by X date, you may have to pay them more in order to meet
that deadline and to compete with the workforce in other states
and keep the people on your project.
Another thing which we don't know if it will be an issue at
Nokia, we're hoping it won't be because we're trying to be
prepared is supply chain.
We don't want another 2020 repeat of supply chain.
But you know, folks are going to need all of these materials and
equipment to build these networks.
So you know, right now our factories are building up our BABA
compliant products and getting them made now
in anticipation for the orders that are to come.
But, you know, supply chain could be an issue.
And I think both supply chain and workforce and labor cost
increase is something that's important for folks that are going
to be applying for BEAD, but also folks that are not applying to
BEAD.
You know, the work doesn't doesn't stop.
Folks are still going to build networks, if they have grant
funding or not.
But those who are not getting grant funding are still going to
feel the effects of the supply chain and of the workforce
shortage.
Andy Johns:
Yeah, and I think that's really interesting to get into because
like you said, you know, that's whether you're applied for this
or not. I think I forget that we had two speakers today.
One was from the Tennessee Broadband Office.
One was from the Kentucky Broadband Office.
And, they said, I can't remember which state, but there were 40
broadband providers who had
pre-qualified to start projects if it's awarded.
We know not all of them are going to get it.
But I mean, even if half that get it, that's 20 significant new
broadband projects in the state, and just imagine what that does.
Like you said, to the limited number of contractors and other,
you know, potential employees that can splice fiber or any of the
other work to be done.
That's significant just in these two states alone.
Brooke Coleman:
Right. And that's, like you said, that's one train out of the 50
trains.
There's 50 other trains that are moving at different speeds and
different paces.
So depending on where your train is in the process is going to
depend on what resources, what materials you can get.
So I think it's really important to be in touch with your
vendors, your contractors, your manufacturers.
Make sure you are communicating and you have a plan in place in
order to be successful.
Andy Johns:
I really think that communications piece, obviously I'm biased.
This is a lot of what I do all day.
But I think that communication piece is, is very important too,
because, you know, we've seen it before with RDOF and a lot of
the other funding.
When folks see the press release or the news story that says
their broadband provider has gotten 12 million, 6 million,
$25 million to build fiber, they're going to expect them to have
it to their house by Monday.
You know. So I think that's such an important piece to kind of
be talking about that and educating folks about just what a big
challenge this is.
Brooke Coleman:
Yeah. And that brings up the sort of the timeline of the things.
And you know, with BEAD these projects, they have to be built
within four years.
But folks can apply and, you know, pitch their project to be
built in two years or three years.
If you say that you can build this project sooner than four
years, you will get more points on your application when that's
being scored, which is important if you want to win.
But that does have, you know, implications.
You need to make sure you have your workforce and your materials
all lined up in order to get them and receive them to meet those
build deadlines.
Andy Johns:
Brooke, thank you so much for joining me.
I think that's one of the best jobs i had seen somebody explain
it succinctly, but give all of the important details because
there's just so many going on right now.
So thanks for sharing all that.
Brooke Coleman:
Absolutely. Happy to help.
Andy Johns:
She is Brooke Coleman, account manager with Nokia.
I'm your guest host Andy Johns.
Thank you so much for listening on this episode of Lead
Tennessee Radio.