Idaho BEAD Program

Idaho BEAD Program is sponsored by Idaho Office of Broadband (IOB). Idaho was awarded $583 million in BEAD funds to ensure that every Idaho resident has access to high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband.

The**Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program**is a federal program that provides $42 billion nationwide to expand high-speed broadband access. BEAD was funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and is overseen by the**National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA)**.

BEAD prioritizes unserved locations that have no internet access or limited access under 25/3 Mbps and underserved locations that only have access under 100/20 Mbps. Review the **BEAD NOFO** and additional **NTIA Policy Notice. ** Idaho was**awarded $583 millio****n**in BEAD funds to ensure that every Idaho resident has access to high-speed, reliable, affordable broadband access.

The Idaho Office of Broadband (IOB) is currently working with stakeholders statewide to deploy the BEAD Program. The first step was drafting the State’s 5-Year Action Plan.

This was then followed by the submission of the Initial Proposal, a document that contains two volumes and describes how the IOB will determine which addresses, called broadband serviceable locations (BSLs), in Idaho are eligible for these funds and how funds will be allocated. The Idaho Office of Broadband (IOB) is committed to supporting Idaho BEAD subgrantees throughout the implementation of their awarded projects.

This page serves as a centralized resource for key program guidance, required documents, templates, and process information to assist subgrantees as they move through agreement execution, environmental and permitting requirements, project implementation, reimbursement, monitoring and compliance, and project closeout.

Awardees are encouraged to regularly review this page for updated resources and program information throughout the life of their BEAD project. The Idaho Office of Broadband (IOB) follows a structured, multi-step process to select subgrantees and award Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding.

This process is designed to support a consistent and transparent approach to evaluating applicants and advancing broadband projects across Idaho. The BEAD subgrantee selection and award process includes: 1. Publishing the Application Project Areas (APAs) map.

2. Conducting a mandatory prequalification phase for potential BEAD applicants. 3.

Opening the BEAD grant application window. 4. Reviewing, scoring, and ranking grant applications.

5. Advancing the highest-scoring applicants to negotiations and issuing provisional grant awards. ## Idaho bead Initial Proposal volume i The State has been working to identify Idaho’s internet needs, challenges and opportunities to develop internet expansion plans.

The work is reflected in the State’s draft BEAD Initial Proposal. Volume I establishes the groundwork for the State’s strategy to bring Internet to all and identify project areas and locations of interest. Find a Spanish version of Draft #1 **here.

** Idaho Commerce submitted a final draft of this proposal to NTIA on December 20, 2023. Click**here** to view this draft. A final version of Volume I was approved by NTIA on April 18, 2024.

View it via the button below. Do you have questions or concerns about the Initial Proposal? Even though the comment period has ended, we want to hear from you!

We encourage residents, community organizations, businesses, local governments and more to review the proposal and email us with any questions. Email us **here. ** ## Idaho bead Initial Proposal volume iI The State has been working to identify Idaho’s internet needs, challenges and opportunities to develop internet expansion plans.

The work is reflected in the State’s draft BEAD Initial Proposal. Volume II details the plans for distributing deployment funding, workforce and economic development initiatives, tribal coordination and more. Find a Spanish version of Draft #1 **here.

** Idaho Commerce submitted a final draft of this proposal to NTIA on December 20, 2023. Click **here** to view this draft. A final version of Volume II was approved by NTIA on September 5, 2024.

View it via the button below. Do you have questions or concerns about the Initial Proposal? Even though the comment period has ended, we want to hear from you!

We encourage residents, community organizations, businesses, local governments and more to review the proposal and email us with any questions. Please email us**here. ** ## Idaho bead FINAL Proposal The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved Idaho’s $583.

2 million BEAD Final Proposal on December 19, 2025. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) subsequently issued Idaho’s formal Notice of Award on January 26, 2026, marking the transition from program planning and award selection to implementation and initiating the state’s six-month timeline to execute subgrant agreements and advance required environmental permitting activities.

## BEAD CHALLENGE PROCESS The IOB is implementing the State’s Initial Proposal Volume I and implemented the BEAD Challenge Process. Learn more by clicking the button below. ## BEAD Regional Coordination and Planning Grant The Idaho Broadband Advisory Board (IBAB) approved $500,000 for broadband planning funds to be used to establish a Broadband Action Team and additional support.

Grant funds are available to bring affordable and reliable internet to Idaho communities. Eligible applicants include local governments, tribal governments and state agencies. The maximum amount awarded will be $50,000.

This first round of funding will close on March 27, 2024. View the grant guidelines**here. ** View the grant applications **here.

** View Planning Grant Scores **here. ** View Awarded projects **here**. ## Idaho’s 5-Year Action Plan View the Idaho’s five-year action plan below.