Remaining BEAD Funds & the 60-day Clock: Early Considerations for States & Partners

More than 30 days have passed since President Trump issued the Executive Order Ensuring a National Policy Framework For Artificial Intelligence. For State Broadband Offices (SBOs), the more immediate countdown is the one in Section 5: fewer than 60 days remain for NTIA to issue a required policy notice outlining how states may access an estimated $21 billion in remaining BEAD funding – and how “onerous” state AI laws may affect eligibility.

So, what should SBO Directors be thinking about as the clock ticks over the next 60 days?

You might reasonably respond: there’s already plenty to think about– Final Proposal approvals, award agreement negotiations, project kickoffs, Tribal consent, EHP compliance, finalizing grant management and reporting policies and procedures, to name just a few. Even so, the magnitude of the remaining BEAD funds and NTIA’s recent statements suggest this topic deserves attention now.

SBO leaders and staff remember the Initial Proposal process well, not just the mechanics, but the time, effort, and careful thought required to design a BEAD program that would serve each state best. At roughly $21 billion, the amount of remaining BEAD funds is large enough to warrant similar deliberate planning, regardless of the process that NTIA puts in place.

So, as the clock ticks down to NTIA’s next policy notice, here are three questions worth considering now.

Question 1: Is my state eligible^[1] for remaining BEAD funds?

The executive order ties NTIA’s approach to remaining BEAD funds to the president’s AI strategy, which emphasizes US AI leadership and cites “onerous” state AI laws as an impediment to that goal. While guidance on the Administration’s definition of “onerous” is forthcoming, SBOs should begin, if they haven’t already, to identify any existing AI-related statutes, regulations, and pending bills and assess how they could be categorized under forthcoming federal guidance.

Clarifying legislative intent early may help ensure that innocuous AI-related laws are not misidentified. Congressional delegations may be helpful partners in communicating legislative intent with the President’s Task Force. SBOs can play an essential role by ensuring that their state’s leadership is prepared to respond to federal identification of onerous AI laws quickly and credibly.

Question 2: What are my state’s priorities for remaining BEAD funds and how can we accomplish our priorities within the constraints NTIA establishes?

There is no shortage of opinions and recommendations from state elected officials, Congress, industry, and advocacy groups about NTIA’s rules for the use of remaining BEAD funds.^[2] Many states began identifying non-deployment priorities in 2024, including middle-mile infrastructure, workforce development, telehealth, digital adoption and digital literacy programs, mobile connectivity, devices, and public safety communications. While the IIJA provides wide latitude for eligible uses of non-deployment funds, NTIA is likely to narrow eligible uses in its forthcoming policy notice.^[3]

SBOs will not know the eligibility particulars until the new policy notice is released. However, states can begin stress testing their priorities for remaining BEAD funds using two lenses already emphasized by the Administration: 1) advancing US AI leadership, and 2) delivering clear, non-duplicative value to taxpayers.

Lens 1: Advancing US AI Leadership.

AI readiness and leadership are clear national priorities. There is an opportunity for pragmatic and creative thinking about whether existing state priorities could be tailored to advance America’s AI readiness and leadership in addition to their original goals. Framing will matter - but more than simply relabeling past priorities will be needed.

For example:

• The curriculum of a broadband workforce program could be enhanced to include the skills needed to deploy both high-density fiber networks and neighborhood-level edge compute infrastructure, then positioned as AI-adjacent technical training (e.g., an AI-registered apprenticeship or AI infrastructure technical training).
  
  
• Digital literacy programs could be reimagined to include AI literacy components - helping workers become comfortable using American-made AI tools to increase productivity and helping seniors navigate AI-enabled telehealth platforms to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.

Lens 2: Demonstrating clear, non-duplicative value to taxpayers.

NTIA’s June 6, 2025 Restructuring BEAD Policy Notice (RPN) and subsequent comments by NTIA leadership stress avoiding waste and not duplicating private investment. SBOs can examine previously identified priorities for overlap with other private or public spending and be prepared to articulate how new spending delivers real, measurable, non-duplicative value.

Demonstrating value needs to be more than presenting a novel concept. Consider the types of data an SBO will need to quantify both the demand, and the potential impact, of non-deployment initiatives. If that evidence isn’t readily accessible, consider how to gain access to existing datasets, or how to quickly collect and analyze new information to support the proposed activities. For example, an AI infrastructure training program should clearly be differentiated from existing state or Department of Labor-funded construction or technology programs and clearly identify the number of people who will be served. Workforce initiatives that are technically specific and well-defined will be easier to demonstrate as uniquely advancing the BEAD program and broader federal goals.

Question 3: What can be done now to make a potential Non-Deployment Plan submission easier?

Forthcoming guidance from NTIA on eligibility for remaining BEAD funding is expected on or about March 11, 2026. While the exact format is not yet known whether an Initial Proposal Volume III or a Final Proposal Volume II, SBOs should expect some form of pre-approval process that requires submission of materials demonstrating alignment with NTIA priorities. NTIA has stated that its "approach to the BEAD savings will complement the program and reflect the same principles that made the reforms successful.”^[4]

A few practical steps can reduce friction if a submission window opens quickly:

• Think through what it would take to produce an “IPv3-type” submission later this spring concurrent with other ongoing deployment work, including needs assessment, partner identification and buy-in, subgrant process design, budget development, and funding allocation strategy.
  
  
• Consider which other state agencies or local stakeholders could be involved in identifying and refining priorities for remaining BEAD funds – or which could become implementation partners. Start open conversations with those potential partners to better understand their current, or future, capacity limitations.
  
  
• Develop a permitting acceleration concept. Speeding up the permitting process for BEAD projects is one of the few specific uses of remaining BEAD funds NTIA leadership has specified thus far. SBOs should evaluate how this can be tied into their obligations under the revised BEAD General Terms and Conditions, and examine options such as expanding permitting capacity, enabling process improvements, supporting coordination across federal, state, local, and utility permitters, or building relationships between permitters and providers.

Asking questions and finding answers

Investing some thought now on these three questions can better position SBOs for whatever comes down the pike from NTIA in the coming months. Given everything else on SBO directors’ plates, perhaps this is more thinking than you’d like to do right now. If you’re looking for a sounding board or some extra brainpower as your thoughts come into focus, the CQI team is often in the weeds on these same issues and is always happy to compare notes. We are a coordinated team across CostQuest Associates, Quadra Partners, and ITG Communications, and we bring funding strategy, program design, data, and policy experience to support states as they navigate what comes next.

Notes:

• [1] The word of choice used in the executive order. States will certainly argue the statute makes them eligible for the funds independent of the EO.

• [2] While the Success for BEAD Act is an important contribution to the overall dialogue regarding remaining BEAD funds, SBOs should remember that NTIA’s June 6 Restructuring BEAD Policy Notice differed in many substantive ways from that spring’s SPEED for BEAD Act.

• [3] Digital equity-related programming is likely to fall outside the guardrails NTIA establishes.

• [4] https://www.ntia.gov/speech/testimony/2025/remarks-assistant-secretary-arielle-roth-free-state-foundation-luncheon