Industry Poll: $20 Billion BEAD Funds Impact on IPv4 Pricing

With more than $20 Billion in BEAD funding expected to be released this year, the industry is increasingly interested in how this will affect IPv4 pricing.

To gauge market sentiment, we ran a LinkedIn poll asking how BEAD funding would affect IPv4 prices as funds are distributed in 2026. 63 industry peers participated, and the results were clear:

  – 56% expect IPv4 prices to increase
  – 22% believe prices will stabilize
  – 11% think prices will continue to decline

Almost 80% of respondents are optomistic that the IPv4 prices stabalize or increase, reflecting a familiar reality: BEAD-funded network builds—particularly among regional and rural providers—still rely heavily on IPv4 for customer onboarding, CGNAT, and legacy compatibility.

Those expecting declines likely anticipate improved address efficiency or slower deployment schedules. Still, the broader takeaway is that BEAD is viewed as a near-term demand catalyst, not a release valve.

As funding converts into active builds, IPv4 demand is likely to follow—keeping pricing firm through the next deployment cycle.