(October 2, 2025) MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs on Tuesday afternoon formally submitted the state’s final Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) following a public comment period. Once approved and projects are completed, every BEAD-eligible location in Alabama will have access to high-speed internet connectivity, with awards enabling service providers to extend broadband to more than 101,000 locations statewide.

“Expanding access to high-speed internet has been one of my top priorities since taking office, and today we are one step closer to ensuring that all Alabamians have the ability to be connected,” said Governor Kay Ivey. “We appreciate our close partnership with the Trump Administration in forming this plan, which will allow us to secure broadband access for all eligible Alabama addresses while saving taxpayers more than $800 million.”

Governor Ivey continued: “This submission reflects years of hard work and coordination between state leaders, ADECA, local partners, and providers. With approval, Alabama will achieve 100 percent coverage for every BEAD-eligible location in our state.”

Since 2017, Governor Ivey, the Alabama Legislature, and ADECA have prioritized efforts to expand broadband through numerous state and federal grant programs while working closely with private partners and local communities. Through the BEAD program, Alabama is on track to achieve full broadband coverage as defined by NTIA.

“Governor Ivey gave us a clear directive: every Alabamian should have access to reliable, high-speed internet,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell. “Today’s submission delivers on that vision. Working closely with NTIA, providers, and communities across the state, we have developed a plan that will serve Alabama families, schools, businesses, and farms for decades to come.”

Through competitive bidding and negotiations, ADECA secured commitments averaging $5,100 per eligible location – a savings of more than $800 million from Alabama’s original $1.4 billion BEAD allocation. The final plan calls for wired construction to approximately 75 percent of locations, with low earth orbit (LEO) satellite service covering approximately 25 percent where a wired solution was not feasible under NTIA’s cost requirements.

Proposed awardees include both national providers and Alabama-based companies and cooperatives, all of which have been vetted to ensure they can deliver on their commitments.

ADECA’s plan includes a robust monitoring program to ensure that projects are completed on time, meet federal standards, and provide lasting benefit to the people of Alabama.

The final BEAD proposal is available on ADECA’s website (BEAD Eligible Broadband Serviceable Locations and Subgrantee Selection Process – ADECA).

(September 10, 2025) ADECA Opens Public Comment Period Ahead of Final BEAD Plan Submission for Full Broadband Coverage in Alabama

Plan addresses every eligible area in the state, with awards for service to 101,090 locations

MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) on Tuesday opened a seven-day public comment period before submitting the state’s final Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Sept. 18, 2025. Once approved, every BEAD-eligible location in Alabama will have access to internet connectivity under the plan, with awards to help enable internet service providers to extend broadband service availability to more than 101,090 locations throughout the state.

“One of my biggest priorities since taking office has been expanding high-speed internet infrastructure across our state to ensure that every single Alabamian has access to connectivity,” said Governor Kay Ivey. “My administration has worked hand-in-glove with the Trump Administration to make our BEAD proposal as low-cost as possible. As a result, our final outcome represents a savings of over $800 million for the American taxpayers –a savings of more than 60 percent, as defined by NTIA percent from Alabama’s original BEAD allocation.”

Governor Ivey continued: “We appreciate the Trump Administration’s teamwork and support in allowing us to ensure that 100 percent of eligible Alabama addresses will be covered and doing so in the most fiscally responsible manner possible.”

Starting in 2017, Governor Ivey, the Legislature, and ADECA have led an effort among many partners in the state to increase broadband availability in unserved and underserved areas, including more than $87 million in state funds through the Broadband Accessibility Fund as well as additional federal funds for the Capital Projects Program, the Statewide Middle-Mile Network, and the and Alabama Anchor Institution/Middle-Mile grant programs. Once the projects funded by BEAD are completed by internet service providers, Alabama will achieve full broadband coverage as defined by NTIA.

“Governor Ivey made clear to me at the very beginning that she wanted every single Alabamian to have access to high-speed internet,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell. “I am proud to say that, as a result of close coordination with NTIA, internet service providers, local communities and others, the approval of this final proposal will allow us to get to the finish line. This plan, once approved, will pay dividends for the people who call Alabama home for decades to come.”

Through competition and negotiation, ADECA secured commitments that would average less than $6,000 per eligible location statewide, representing savings of more than $800 million from Alabama’s original BEAD allocation of $1.4 billion.

The final proposal provides for wired fiber terrestrial broadband construction to nearly 80 percent of eligible locations and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite service to just over 20 percent. Based on the federal requirement to fund “priority” broadband first, LEO satellite was assigned only where there was no grant application that was within reasonable cost as defined by NTIA.

Proposed awardees include large national and international companies, as well as local Alabama companies and cooperatives. All proposed awardees have been vetted and evaluated to help ensure that they can deliver on their grant commitments.

Since new rules for BEAD were released by NTIA on June 6, ADECA has:

• Crafted a program to maximize competition and secure the “benefit of the bargain” for taxpayers
• Solicited participation from a wide range of entities, as well as LEO satellite companies
• Distributed materials and provided extensive guidance to secure participation
• Verified all locations are eligible for BEAD funding
• Analyzed all proposed projects to ensure they meet federal requirements, including for “priority” status
• Evaluated all applications for technical, financial, and programmatic sufficiency
• Asked all applicants to reduce price
• Asked satellite internet service providers to offer final pricing and commitments for LEO capacity grants for all remaining locations excluded by provisional awardees
• Selected among competing applications in the same general project area based on aggregate costs
• Selected “priority” applications where costs are not excessive
• Developed a Program Monitoring plan to help ensure successful completion of all projects

The full BEAD proposal and instructions for public comment are available on ADECA’s website at this link.