“We stopped the trains on Friday when we saw [the news] pop at noon,” said Misty Ann Giles, director of the Department of Administration and chief operating officer for the state of Montana, in an interview with Telecompetitor today regarding last Friday’s release of policy guidance changes for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
How are state offices navigating the BEAD changes? Giles said her staff has been meeting regularly, “unpacking the new guidance, and meeting with our Communication Advisory Commission members.”
Her team’s top priority is to better understand the timelines outlined in the new guidelines. “The NOFO [Notice of Funding Opportunity] says 30 days and 90 days. But we’re not getting data for 14 days, so we’re trying to get some clarity on the nuances of those technical details, because they matter when you’re talking about a 90-day time ticker.”
Giles said the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a call with the state broadband offices this Friday.
What’s Next?
Once Giles and her team have more clarity on the timelines, their next goal will be to launch the public notice for unlicensed fixed wireless (ULFW) providers.
According to the BEAD changes released Friday, “ULFW technology should be permitted to participate in the BEAD application process so long as it meets the technical criteria specified herein.”
Giles says Montana will give ULFW providers seven days “to let us know if they have service, and what those locations are, and if they plan to continue service.”
After that, the state will revisit its BEAD application scoring matrix, because “the new guidance essentially eviscerates the old scoring matrix.”
Montana was one of the many states to engage in a BEAD prequalification process. The state aims to reopen its prequalification application window soon.
“Montana was one of those states that ran a bifurcated process,” Giles explained. “We had a prequalification round for the financial, operational, and capacity [criteria], and then a more technical round for the engineering and the program plans.” She said Montana will be “getting that dusted back off” and reaching out to providers.
BEAD Changes: Opportunities and Questions for Montana
As a state with one of the largest land areas but one of the lowest population densities in the U.S., Montana may benefit from the technology-neutral approach of the new BEAD guidance.
“Having a fiber-only model with only $630 million [allocated] was pretty unworkable for us, given some of our locations are very expensive,” Giles said.
Still, she said, “There are a lot of questions around: can our fiber companies even compete now, if you’re really [saying] the lowest price wins?” With Amazon’s Project Kuiper offering to cover locations at $2,500 per location and Starlink at $5,000 per location, “that’s going to be pretty challenging for any of our fiber companies to hit.”
Giles said Montana is seeking guidance from NTIA on whether price is the sole factor they will consider, overriding other considerations. Her goal is to “make sure we’re smart about where we use all those tools in the toolbox from a technology-neutral standpoint; put fiber where it makes sense, use fixed wireless and Starlink or Amazon — or any low Earth orbit [LEO] satellite option.”
The goal, she said, is to “ensure we can get everybody covered but not box out a particular industry.”
Giles said the providers throughout the state are being understanding and patient. “Anecdotally, in the few emails and messages I have received, the big fear is, ‘Is it truly just going to be the cheapest wins?’ We have some fiber companies that can do fiber-to-the-home or the business for $5,000, $6,000, or $7,000 [per location], but that’s still more expensive than the LEO option.
“And then you throw unlicensed fixed wireless in that bag as well — which is going to be a new dynamic — and [fiber providers are] kind of concerned: ‘Hey, this is great, the new administration relaxed all these requirements that made it onerous and difficult for us to apply, but now are we kind of boxed out by default?’”
Montana’s broadband office will hold a public event on June 25 to discuss the changes to the BEAD Program.
Giles said her office agrees with the new BEAD guidance “philosophically,” and hailed the reduction in requirements for providers to qualify for BEAD.
“It’s stripped back to an infrastructure program,” she said. “The previous administration’s guidelines were pretty onerous for our companies — particularly our telcos — to meet. We had a relatively good turnout in our first round. But they were pretty forthright that a lot of the reason they didn’t come to the table was they couldn’t meet the requirements of the previous administration, which had nothing to do with an infrastructure program.”
Last August, Montana was the first state to open its BEAD Program application portal.
Ultimately, Giles wants “clarity on how we can do the balancing act of meeting the needs [of the people] and the charge of the new administration — but also make it workable for our different companies and providers to ensure they’re successful here in the state.”
While the timeline of the BEAD changes is ambitious, Giles is ready for the challenge. “We’re thrilled. We’re excited to get back to work. It’s been no fun being paused, so we’re ready to get the job done.”
Additional information about Montana broadband, including state funding resources, awards made, BEAD news, state-specific Telecompetitor coverage, and more can be found on the Telecompetitor Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
