23 August 2024

Louisiana Open for BEAD Funding Applications

Louisiana has commenced accepting applications for rural broadband funding under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. A total of 33 providers, including major tier 1 carriers such as Charter, Brightspeed, Cox, Att, Comcast, and various smaller internet service providers, have been authorized to participate in this funding round. The deadline for applications is August 29.

As the first state to receive its BEAD funding allocation, Louisiana has been granted over $1.3 billion from the U.S. Government run program. This substantial sum tax payer dollars is intended to subsidize the costs associated with expanding broadband internet to underserved and unserved areas throughout the state.

Continuing its tradition, Louisiana will utilize the GUMBO moniker for this initiative—the same name employed for previous rural broadband funding sourced from the federal Capital Projects Fund. The BEAD-supported program will be designated as GUMBO 2.0.

This development follows closely on the heels of Montana’s announcement, which marks the state’s pioneering acceptance of BEAD Funds applications.

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Louisiana BEAD Pre-Qualified Applicants

Approximately 140,000 locations in Louisiana are eligible for BEAD funding. The state plans to distribute this funding in two distinct phases.

Qualified applicants will submit bids based on sub-project areas (SPAs) or clusters of SPAs, with each SPA encompassing roughly 800 eligible locations.

Only companies that have been pre-qualified for this phase of the GUMBO program may apply for funding. The comprehensive list of pre-qualified companies is as follows:

  • A2D Inc
  • Acadiana Broadband
  • Allen’s Communications
  • AT&T
  • AOP
  • Brightspeed
  • Broadband Services
  • Cajun Broadband
  • Charter
  • ClearPath Fiber
  • Comcast Cable Communications LLC
  • Conexon Connect LLC
  • Coushatta Tribe of LA
  • Cox Communications
  • Direct Communications
  • Faster Cajun Networks
  • FastWyre
  • IBT Group USA LLC
  • Kaptel
  • Lake Bruin Wireless LLC
  • LiveOak Fiber
  • Louisiana Local Fiber Consortium
  • LUS Fiber
  • Lyte Fiber LLC
  • Nextlink
  • Pelican Broadband
  • PhireLink
  • Ritter Communications
  • SkyRider Communications LLC
  • SpaceX
  • Trinity Communications
  • Vexus Fiber
  • Volt Broadband LLC

In a statement, Veneeth Iyengar, Executive Director of Louisiana’s Office of Broadband Development and Connectivity, expressed confidence that the BEAD funding will bridge the digital divide across the state within the coming years.

For further information on Louisiana’s broadband initiatives, including details on state funding resources, previous awards, keep up with our blog, or reach out to Louisiana’s office of broadband development and connectivity

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In the ever-shifting landscape of the global economy, markets can rise and fall with the flicker of a headline or the whisper of a trend. After two months of decreased demand, this market—once bruised and beleaguered—has made a remarkable resurgence. It has not only regained lost ground but is now charting a course towards renewed growth as we had experienced in the first five months of 2024. This rebound is a testament to the resilience of industries, the adaptability of businesses, and the unshakable confidence of internet community who refused to let short-term volatility define the long-term network growth requirements. Here's how this market, once thought to be on the brink, has reemerged stronger than ever. The market has bounced back to 142 transfer requests in August 2024, which is right in line with this year’s average of 143 per month. Last month’s demand indicated an increase of +12% over July and a whopping +25% over June. With even better news, the 143 average is still up +5% over the average of 2022 and 2023. The recent surge in demand coincides with Louisiana's allocation of $1.3 billion in BEAD funds, with plans to begin distribution soon. As more states consistently receive their BEAD allocations, we can anticipate further demand spikes in the upcoming months and certainly in 2025. Additionally, we’ve noticed a significant increase for larger IPv4 subnets from our client, a trend not seen during the first half of the year. August marked another record-breaking month of IPv4 sales, with 73 IPv4 transfers — a 25% increase over our 2024 monthly average of 58 transfers. Buy Pv4 September Transfers

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