The U.S. federal government is preparing to dish out more than $45 billion in funding for broadband expansion through the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program; the $1 billion Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure program; and the $1.5 billion State Digital Equity Act program. In an interesting twist, a majority of the funding is set to be doled out to the states, who will then be responsible for allocating it via competitive grant awards.
Read more here.