1084205 - Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) - 2024
Funding Opportunity Details

Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD)

Final Application Deadline: May 9, 2025 5:05 PM

Description

• Overview and Timeline

   

  The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Job Act (IIJA), provides over $42 billion for broadband planning, deployment, mapping, equity, and adoption activities. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) allocated $130.2M through the BEAD Program to North Dakota to help close the digital divide across the state.

   

  The State Broadband Program Office (SBPO) within the North Dakota Information Technology (NDIT) Department will oversee the State’s strategy to expand broadband access and promote digital equity by administering the funds received from the NTIA. This important endeavor will help advance North Dakota’s goal of becoming the first state to secure 100% broadband coverage.

   

  This application is intended for North Dakota BEAD project applicants, also referred to as “prospective subgrantees” or “organization” in this document. North Dakota is planning a multi-step process for selecting subgrantees and making BEAD fund awards. The Subgrantee Selection Process will include three phases:

   

  • Pre-Application Process: SBPO will release BEAD eligible locations, as verified during the BEAD Challenge Process. Prospective subgrantees will submit information on proposed locations of interest.
  • Initial Application Round: SBPO will solicit applications for unserved and underserved locations and eligible CAIs.
  • Subsequent Application Round(s): SBPO will identify potentially unclaimed locations after the initial application round, if any exist. If locations identified as eligible remain unclaimed after initial rounds of funding, additional application rounds will be conducted until no unclaimed locations remain.

   

  Please Note | Per the latest federal guidance, BEAD-allocated funding will remain available for project selection and subgrant awarding at this time. Note that current requirements and guidelines may be subject to change. The State Broadband Program Office will communicate impacts to prospective subgrantees as information is released.

  Completing the Application

   

  Please complete one application per project. You will need to start a new application for each project area you are interested in submitting a bid for. Please note that certain non-project specific information related to NTIA requirements (much of Sections 7 – 14) can be copied and used for additional applications. For detailed instructions on how to copy information from a previously submitted application, please refer to the User Guide section titled “Copying a Previous Application”.

   

   

  Confidentiality Statement

   

  As per North Dakota Century Code (NDCC) Sections 44-04-18 and 44-04-18.4, all records submitted to a public entity are considered public records unless otherwise exempt by law. Information classified as trade secrets, proprietary, commercial, financial, or research information may be treated as confidential if it has not been previously disclosed, and if its disclosure would cause competitive harm to the submitting party.

   

  The State of North Dakota will review requests for confidentiality in accordance with the guidelines of the North Dakota Century Code; the ultimate determination of confidentiality will be made in compliance with all applicable legal provisions. To identify any content your organization wishes to have reviewed for designation as confidential, please download and complete the Confidentiality Request Template. You will upload your completed template at the end of your application (Section 14). Additional guidance can be found on the Read Me tab in the template

   

  NTIA Requirements

   

  Documents requested throughout the North Dakota BEAD Application are required by the NTIA BEAD NOFO. The SBPO does not have the ability to alter the requirement. For further information, the SBPO has provided a link to the relevant section of the NTIA BEAD NOFO that details each documentation requirement.

   

  North Dakota BEAD Application	NTIA BEAD NOFO
  Section 1: Applicant Information	below
  Organization	Section I.C.p
  Section 2: Project Overview	Section I.C
  Speeds	Section I.C and Section IV.B.7.a
  Letters of Tribal Consent	Section IV.B.9.b.15
  Section 3: Project Area and Design	N/A
  Section 4: Service Pricing	below
  Low-Cost Service Option	Section IV.C.2.c.i
  Section 5: Project Cost & Match	below
  Total Match	Section III.B
  Capital Investment Schedule	Section IV.D.2.c
  Section 6: Project Timeline	below
  Project Timeline	Section IV.D.2.c
  Section 7: BEAD Qualifications	Section IV.D.2
  Section 7.1: Financial Capability	Section IV.D.2.a.
  Audited Financial Statements	Section IV.D.2.a.iii.
  Financial Surety	Section IV.D.2.a.ii
  Sustainability	Section IV.D.2.a.iv
  Certifications	Section IV.D.2.a.i
  Section 7.2: Managerial Capability	Section IV.D.2.b
  Certifications	Section IV.D.2.a.i
  Section 7.3: Technical Capability	Section IV.D.2.c
  Section 7.4: Compliance with Laws	Section IV.D.2.d
  Section 7.5: Operational Capability	Section IV.D.2.e
  Section 7.6: Ownership Disclosure	Section IV.D.2.f
  Section 7.7: Existing Projects Using Public Funding	Section IV.D.2.g
  Section 7.8: Cybersecurity and Supply Chain Risk Management	Section IV.C.2.c.vi
  Section 8: Labor Standards & Protection	Section IV.C.1.e
  Section 9: Skilled Workforce and Equitable Workforce Development Plans	Section IV.C.1.e
  Section 10: MBE / WBE / Labor Surplus Firms Inclusion	Section VII.D.7
  Section 11: Weather & Climate Risk Mitigation	Section IV.C.1.h
  Section 12: Build America, Buy America	Section VII.D.6
  Section 13: Environmental and Historical Preservation	Section VII.D.4

   

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