As most states finalize their broadband expansion plans, a few are standing out for their speed, strategy, and scope
In sum – what to know:
States push ahead – Louisiana, Texas, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Nevada are turning BEAD plans into action amid shifting federal rules.
Fiber still leads, for now – Most states remain fiber-first, even as BEAD adopts a more “technology-neutral” approach.
Policy shapes progress – Evolving BABA guidance and BEAD restructuring show regulation now drives broadband rollout as much as technology.
The $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is finally shifting from planning to execution. After months of mapping, stakeholder consultations, and public-comment cycles, most U.S. states are edging toward the finish line — but a few are pulling clearly ahead.
As of October 2025, 51 of the 56 eligible states and territories have submitted their Final Proposals to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The following five states — Louisiana, Texas, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Nevada — offer a snapshot of how BEAD is moving from spreadsheets to shovel-ready projects.
Louisiana: The first
Louisiana became the first state to win NTIA approval for its Final Proposal back in January 2025 — setting a precedent for how others would follow. The state will use roughly $1.3 billion in BEAD funds to connect about 140,000 homes and businesses. Notably, 80% of those builds rely on fiber. By focusing heavily on long-term, future-proof infrastructure, Louisiana has positioned itself as a model for states balancing urgency with sustainability.
“Today marks a major milestone for the BEAD program, which puts states in the lead to deliver affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service to all,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, in a statement. “Louisiana has an outstanding plan to close the digital divide. Today, it can put that plan into action and start building the networks that will connect everyone in the state.”
Texas: The biggest
No state received more BEAD funding than Texas, which was allocated $3.3 billion to connect an estimated 243,000 unserved and underserved locations. The state’s Broadband Development Office submitted its Final Proposal this month, outlining a mix of fiber, low-Earth-orbit satellite, and fixed wireless technologies.
“This proposal will help ensure every Texas community can compete and thrive by empowering job creators, strengthening small businesses, and giving families access to new employment and education opportunities,” said Acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock. “Texas is investing these federal dollars wisely and keeping our focus on results.”
The scale of the project — and the state’s push to combine BEAD with private and state-level incentives — could make Texas a defining test case for how massive broadband builds get managed across rural and urban divides.
Hawaii: The toughest
Hawaii released its Draft Final Proposal in late August, prioritizing 82% of funding for fiber builds and about 8% for satellite service to reach remote islands. The state faces unique challenges — from undersea fiber costs to topographic barriers.
The Hawaii Broadband Strategic Plan (published by the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism in 2020) described these challenges in detail: “Hawaii’s unique geography requires a wide range of infrastructure and technologies to provide broadband connectivity both across the State and with the rest of the world. As a multi-island, volcanic state in the middle of the Pacific, Hawaii must contend with thousands of miles of ocean between it and the nearest continent, miles of deep ocean channels separating its islands, soaring mountains, deep valleys, erupting volcanoes, and thick tropical forests.”
But the state’s focus on redundancy and resiliency highlights how BEAD can serve as both broadband expansion and disaster-preparedness investment.
Mississippi: The most fiber-focused
Mississippi was allocated $1.2 billion from the total BEAD program. Despite the NTIA’s BEAD restructuring, which the state said “eliminated” the program’s original “fiber preference,” its Draft Final Proposal still allocates about 86% of funding to fiber — the highest proportion among the states on this list.
A much smaller portion of Mississippi’s funding — 13% — is going to LEO satellite solutions. About 97,000 eligible locations are targeted for coverage improvements. The Mississippi Broadband Office has made transparency a core principle, with clear public comment opportunities and a commitment to “serve once, serve right.”
Nevada: The most balanced
Nevada’s Draft Final Proposal, also released in August, embraces a more diverse technology mix — 51% fiber, 41% fixed wireless, and 9% satellite. For a state defined by mountains and sparse populations, that balance reflects the flexibility BEAD offers under its “tech-neutral” guidance. Nevada’s approach could provide a blueprint for other states tackling challenging topographies without sacrificing performance targets.
A list of Nevada’s winning BEAD bidders reflects this balanced approach. For satellite providers, Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services and SpaceX were awarded $3.26 million for 5,027 locations and $2.4 million for 2,803 locations, respectively. The remainder includes six fiber-first ISPs or incumbents — among them regional fiber provider Beehive Broadband and Digital Technology Solutions (DTS Fiber) — alongside six fixed wireless operators providing last-mile connectivity. Notably, AT&T, which offers both fiber and fixed-wireless services, received $8.1 million to serve 1,336 locations, as well as a few hybrid and cable operators such as Cox Communications, Satview Broadband, and the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, which are deploying mixed HFC and fiber-fed networks across rural areas.
Analyst insight: Navigating NTIA’s Build America, Buy America rule
Industry observers say one reason BEAD progress has accelerated this fall is the NTIA’s revised guidance on Build America, Buy America (BABA) rules. Andrew Lipman of Morgan Lewis noted in a client briefing that many telecom equipment makers have “warmly embraced” the self-certification process introduced in 2024, easing earlier compliance fears that threatened to delay projects.
“NTIA’s recent federal broadband procurement guidance, on top of the BABA waiver released earlier in 2024, demonstrates that the federal broadband agency apparently is backing down from being as mean as evil spirits on BABA compliance,” Lipman wrote, in his Halloween-themed update. He added that vendors including Cisco, Corning, Nokia, Prysmian, Superior Essex, Preformed Line Products, and Sterlite Technologies have either completed or begun self-certifying their U.S. manufacturing status — a move that “lets prospective BEAD applicants … partially relax” as state grant programs go live.
That change, paired with the agency’s partial waiver for certain optical components (like preforms and fiber connectors), has reduced uncertainty for fiber vendors and broadband builders alike. It’s a timely development, Lipman wrote, with “a candy-bowl rush” expected as subgrantees race to lock in compliant equipment orders before NTIA’s December 3 final-review deadline.
The bigger picture
Taken together, these five states illustrate how BEAD is evolving from federal ambition into a practical, localized strategy. While fiber remains the dominant choice — often comprising more than 80 percent of planned builds — many states are supplementing it with satellite and wireless solutions to reach hard-to-serve areas.
The NTIA says it expects the first BEAD-funded projects to break ground by early 2026, signaling that the broadband expansion Americans have heard about for years is finally ready to begin.
Even as states make measurable progress, shifting federal policy is reshaping the ground beneath them. In early June, the Trump administration unveiled new rules for BEAD program, drawing mixed reactions across the telecom industry. The update rescinded previously approved state broadband plans laid out by some of the frontrunners, including Louisiana, Delaware, and Nevada, and replaced BEAD’s fiber-first framework with a “technology-neutral” approach. The NTIA is now requiring states to reopen bidding in what it calls the “Benefit of the Bargain” round, inviting all technologies, including lower-cost alternatives to fiber.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick described the shift as “a new direction for the BEAD program that will deliver high-speed internet access efficiently on a technology-neutral basis, and at the right price.” But for many states — and fiber vendors already planning deployments — the change adds new uncertainty about timelines, procurement, and the long-term role of fiber in America’s broadband future.
