BEAD Program Targeting: A preliminary analysis

This policy brief examines the targeting of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a $42.45 billion federal initiative under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) aimed at expanding high-speed internet access the United States. The analysis links state-designated BEAD-eligible locations to key demographic indicators, focusing on “BEAD clusters” – census block groups where at least half of broadband-serviceable locations qualify for funding. The goal is to examine whether BEAD state plans are directing resources to the areas and populations in most need of support for broadband connectivity

Overall, the results suggest that BEAD will primarily benefit low population density areas where adoption of high-speed broadband is lagging, with limited expected impacts in other areas. A particularly important finding is that, after controlling for other demographic factors, the share of households in poverty is not correlated with priority BEAD areas in plans submitted to the NTIA. This finding raises concerns about whether BEAD will meet its mandate of reducing income-based disparities in high-speed broadband access. At the same time, the findings also point to vast differences in program targeting across states, suggesting that these impacts will be highly dependent on local contexts.