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 NTIA officials released the Notice of Funding Opportunity, NOFO, for the second digital equity program in the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant program in late March.
 Authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the State Digital Equity Act includes three funding programs:
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 <ul>
 <li>$60 million for State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program</li>
 <li>$1.44 billion for State Digital Equity Capacity Program</li>
 <li>$1.25 billion for Competitive Grant Program</li>
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</div></div>&nbsp;<h4>What states must know&nbsp;</h4>The first funding program, the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program, was announced in 2022. All 50 U.S. states, territories and tribal governments submitted their plans by July 12, 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandusa.ntia.doc.gov/news/latest-news/first-time-all-states-will-have-plan-address-digital-equity">marking the first time that all states had a plan to address digital equity</a>.&nbsp;Louisiana and Virginia, both Ready customers, were among the first states to have its Digital Equity plans approved.&nbsp;This funding program provides funds to U.S. states, territories and tribal communities to implement their digital equity plans established previously under the State Digital Equity Planning Program. This program also establishes a competitive process to make funding from both programs available for use in digital equity and inclusion activities.&nbsp;Under this program, U.S. states, territories and tribal communities will have $840 million available to implement their digital equity plans.&nbsp;U.S. states and Puerto Rico must have their applications submitted to the NTIA by May 28, 2024. U.S. territories, besides Puerto Rico, must have their applications submitted by&nbsp;July 31, 2024.&nbsp; Tribal governments will be able to submit applications starting on&nbsp;September 25, 2024 and must have applications submitted by&nbsp;February 7, 2025.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/In_blog_graphic_ef690bd986/In_blog_graphic_ef690bd986.jpg"></figure>&nbsp;<h4>What states can do to stay ahead&nbsp;</h4>Grantors, throughout the application process, must operate by the principles of a&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/data-driven-state-broadband-offices">data-driven state broadband office</a>.&nbsp;Digital equity asset maps in conjunction with&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/state-broadband-office-software">Ready’s Grantor platform</a> can be a powerful step to ensure broad participation in this process.&nbsp;Using the Ready platform, grantors can utilize geospatial tools to visualize areas of need and define project areas. Ready’s&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/products/performance-test-and-survey">Performance Test and Survey</a> tools will allow grantors to collect data from a wide range of communities to properly determine where resources should be disbursed. State broadband offices can also utilize&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/products/bead-grant-reporting-automation-software">Ready Automated Reporting and Compliance&nbsp;</a>to minimize their team’s value time being spent on regulatory and compliance needs.&nbsp;State broadband offices have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to narrow the digital divide and uplift their communities. There will never be another chance like this, and state broadband leaders must have the best tools at their disposal to make data-informed decisions that allow them to make the most effective use of their funding allocations, and get their communities the broadband they need.&nbsp;

Everything that states must know to successfully execute a Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program 

Want to get ahead on Digital Equity Programs? Read this. 

Everything you need to know about Digital Equity Capacity Grants 

Everything that states must know to successfully execute a Digital Equity Program 

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Digital Equity 101 

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Here's what you need to know about digital equity

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If you’re a cooperative sitting on a&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/bead-hidden-truth-your-rural-electric-co-op-is-probably-sitting-on-a-matching-funds-goldmine">BEAD goldmine&nbsp;</a>who’s aware that&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/hidden-truth-you-don-t-need-to-become-an-isp-to-win-in-bead">becoming an ISP isn’t necessary to win in BEAD</a>, there may still be one thing keeping you on the fence: meeting reporting and compliance guidelines.&nbsp;And you wouldn’t be alone. In fact,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nrtc.coop/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/REC-Broadband-Benchmarking-Report-2022-Refresh.pdf">more than 70% of cooperatives reported that their greatest concern in BEAD was fulfilling reporting and compliance requirements.</a>&nbsp;<h2>Software is the solution</h2>Software can automate nearly all of your post-award reporting and compliance burden, and thus allow you to focus on connecting more families to the broadband service they need.&nbsp;Ready’s ARC platform is designed to help BEAD applicants save time by skipping the manual self-reporting process and mountains of paperwork with a single digital workflow. This, in turn, means that applicants are able to coordinate their deployments with marketing efforts while also supplying updates regularly.This allows for applicants to answer questions, such as “Where is the network at this moment?”,&nbsp;“Are broadband performance obligations met?”&nbsp;and “How is service at location X?”<img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/VPQLFVWcdSL54ZWd2-TCOQSYAbc0kDJmv56ns4-onWpgNHonO9pSDwmZypH_C1UtbkFLj9yFIMV2TraID91xu3SY7JCzhI4wDmT-4P8BjBeDazEPun9EeCmbcirkuYZws5wwbKCqR_664mDfLXF6bUU">Using ARC’s open Proof of Passings Standard (POPS), any Build America Buy America -compliant equipment can be connected to the platform to save time and provide other benefits. This includes geospatial attestations of service availability, quality, and affordability and automation and digitization of the passings reporting process.&nbsp;ARC’s capabilities also includes automated&nbsp;Proof of Marketing™️, a BEAD requirement that those awarded BEAD grants make demonstrable efforts to market plans to unserved and underserved locations, and&nbsp;Proof of Labor™️,&nbsp;which ensures compliance with Davis-Bacon among other labor and workforce requirements.&nbsp;Ready ARC also includes&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/broadband-audits">America’s Broadband Audit</a>, a public report card on America’s current broadband reality and Performance Test and Surveys.&nbsp;<img src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/D08HWRtF2FTE9iJbRjULgQZHF02luQddpKJSJ-RGFryhVK23P6l4e90Zai6uo7p3vJ9zSnSc6VLeYvxyWXR_OqichavZe3m75DWMKEWO1EGMjlZII-u8JSN6yn6CuKuejmCFHuHR5IbAHTy6GDNEvmg">Lastly, BEAD applicants should utilize&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money./">Broadband.money</a>, a one-stop applicant platform that provides tools and resources for every stage of the BEAD journey.&nbsp;Time is of the essence and your communities are counting on you. And, remember, if you don’t apply, your competition will.

 RECs biggest concerns can be eliminated with Ready ARC

Want to win in BEAD? Use software to avoid the paperwork and parts you loathe 

Software can save you from BEAD hassles  

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Hidden Truth: Software can handle the parts of BEAD that you loathe 

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/truth2inblog_c3657617b0/truth2inblog_c3657617b0.png"></figure>As many cooperatives discover that they are sitting on a&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/bead-hidden-truth-your-rural-electric-co-op-is-probably-sitting-on-a-matching-funds-goldmine]">BEAD goldmines</a>, it raises an important question: Can cooperatives win in BEAD without becoming ISPs, or internet service providers?&nbsp;The answer is a resounding yes – and doing so can bring an additional revenue stream to cooperatives for their existing infrastructure.&nbsp;Cooperatives possess a powerful legacy as&nbsp;public resource stewards alongside decades of success delivering critical services to members. Many are uninterested in pivoting their operations and becoming an ISP, but&nbsp;don't want their members to lose in BEAD.&nbsp;Under BEAD and IIJA, or Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act guidance, these cooperatives can form partnerships between ISP operators and other stakeholders, such as other cooperatives and other infrastructure owners.&nbsp;Cooperatives applying alongside an ISP are not only competitive for BEAD, but can also create an additional revenue stream. Under the partnership agreement, a cooperative can use their existing infrastructure to charge the partner ISP a monthly fee. This fee can be assessed on a per passing or per subscriber can include maintenance costs for the right-of-way infrastructure.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finding a trustworthy partner&nbsp;Cooperatives should prioritize finding a trustworthy ISP partner that will allow for cooperatives to maintain the trust of its customers.&nbsp;The most trustworthy partners are cooperatives that have successfully begun operating as ISPs, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/united-fibers-path-to-bringing-broadband-to-northwest-missouri-s-rural-communities">United Fiber</a>. These cooperatives possess an intimate understanding of structure and expectations of cooperatives, but also understand what is necessary to successfully deploy broadband.&nbsp;It’s important that both cooperatives are aligned on what is at stake in partnerships as they must last at least a decade, per BEAD guidelines.&nbsp;BEAD is a&nbsp;golden opportunity for cooperatives to bring broadband to their members – even if they don't want to be an ISP. It simply can’t afford to be missed.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Want to learn more?&nbsp;Be sure to check out&nbsp;<a href="https://www.broadband.io/c/broadband-grant-events/hidden-truths-about-bead">Hidden Truths of BEAD</a> featuring Darren Farnan, general manager of United Fiber, and Jase Wilson, founder and CEO of Ready, on Friday, March 29 at 2:30 pm.&nbsp;

BEAD can be a win-win for co-ops who don’t want to be an ISP   

Co-ops who don't want to be an ISP can still win in BEAD 

Not an ISP? You can still win in BEAD

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Hidden Truth: You don’t need to become an ISP to win in BEAD

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Ready is excited to partner with Calix to help providers get the resources they need in order to connect more families and business to better services.“We’ve heard from numerous providers across the country, but especially in rural communities, that BEAD’s requirements are onerous and its rules are difficult to understand. This partnership will allow us to simplify, streamline, and provide more opportunities for local providers to win at BEAD,” Scott D. Woods, Ready’s President, Public-Private Partnerships said. “This further continues Ready’s commitment to our mission to bring better broadband services to every single household – regardless of geographic location or any other demographic barrier.”Ready’s tools, including <a href="https://ready.net/products/bead-grant-reporting-automation-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">automated reporting and compliance</a>, will dramatically simplify each stage of the funding process for Calix’s customers. Ready’s platform, Broadband.money, will be available for customers to use to gain resources and tools necessary for BEAD success.Calix is a key player in supporting its customers in deploying and complying with federal and state government funding programs. Over the past three years, the company has secured over $2 billion in federal and state funding programs including $650 million in green energy funds for Allo Communications.&nbsp; &nbsp;

This partnership will allow rural providers easier access to win and manage BEAD grant funds to connect more households

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Ready excited to partner with Calix to help broadband providers win

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/In_blog_graphic_9_02f45fb93e/In_blog_graphic_9_02f45fb93e.png"></figure>Rural electric cooperatives, or RECs, have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in BEAD, a $42.5 billion broadband grant program aimed at connecting families to affordable, reliable broadband service.&nbsp;&nbsp;The stakes couldn’t be higher. If you don’t apply for BEAD, others will and they might not have your members’ best interests in mind. Co-ops like yours can, should and frankly must apply for your share of BEAD.&nbsp;Many aspects of BEAD seem daunting to RECs and co-ops like yours have built in advantages in applying for America’s largest and quite possibly last investment in broadband infrastructure.While many aspects of BEAD look daunting, RECs and Co-ops like yours have several unique built-in advantages when it comes to applying for your share of our nation’s largest-ever broadband bet.&nbsp;BEAD grants, like most government broadband grant programs, require matching funds from other sources in order to qualify for grant funding.&nbsp;In order to qualify for BEAD, applicants must have at least 25% matching funds in most states and cases. It might not be known, however, that these matching funds don’t need to provided in cash or bringing 100% of the equity or credit and lending to the table.&nbsp;This leads to our first BEAD Hidden Truth of Matching Funds.&nbsp;<h2>Your built-in goldmine&nbsp;</h2>Rural electric cooperatives, or RECs, have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use existing infrastructure as matching funds through the BEAD program.&nbsp;For more than 90 years, RECs have served as great stewards of public resources building physical plants, right of ways and service delivery infrastructure for electricity to thousands of member homes.&nbsp;That prior investment is valuable – literally – as an eligible in-kind BEAD matching fund contribution.&nbsp;In fact, you can count the value of your existing right of way, infrastructure, and make ready cost savings compared to what greenfield actors would need to invest in order to replace what you’ve already built.&nbsp;In some cases, the total value of those assets would exceed the minimum 25% matching fund contribution out of the gates.&nbsp;If your rural electric cooperative, for example, is applying for a $100 million BEAD award, it needs to have $25 million, or 25%, in matching funds in order to qualify.&nbsp;Initially, you might dismiss this as possible since you may not have $25 million in liquid assets or feel comfortable about acquiring a $25 million loan.Let’s say, however, that your electric plant is appraised at $30 million, by a qualified right-of-way appraiser. You now possess 30% of the matching funds for your BEAD award.&nbsp;Perhaps, your cooperative decides that it will offer 50% off for the first 10,000 homes to sign up for a period of two years. This comes at a cost of $5 million to the cooperative, but under BEAD guidelines, it is classified as an “in-kind contribution” that can be used towards matching funds.&nbsp;Another potential source of matching funds can be through a vendor providing a discount for the project. If a vendor provides a 20% discount on equipment, the difference between the original price and the discounted price can be counted towards matching funds.&nbsp;In the hypothetical outlined above, using these three sources alone would result in $40 million, or 40%, of necessary matching funds. And that’s before you even have to think about liquid assets or potential loans.&nbsp;<h2>It’s not a loan which means&nbsp;no collateral necessary</h2>The process begins with applicants acquiring a right-of-way appraisal from a private valuation entity to assign the value of your assets and count that in your application.&nbsp;This is not the same as pledging your assets as collateral against a loan, which was historically required in prior broadband funding programs and REC broadband consortium schemes.&nbsp;Utilizing this goldmine at your disposal is critical because&nbsp;if you don’t apply for BEAD funds, your competition will.&nbsp;<h2>You can’t afford to lose in BEAD&nbsp;</h2>Losing out on BEAD is bigger than any missed business opportunity because it won’t be just your loss, but instead a loss to the families and communities you serve.&nbsp;You owe it to your customers to ensure that taxpayer funding is best spent by providers eager to help their communities close the digital divide.

If you don’t apply for BEAD, your competition will.

BEAD Hidden Truth: Your rural electric co-op is (probably) sitting on a matching funds goldmine

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Hidden Truth of BEAD #1 

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bead-hidden-truth-your-rural-electric-co-op-is-probably-sitting-on-a-matching-funds-goldmine

<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/In_blog_graphic_6_3e0d70f9b0/In_blog_graphic_6_3e0d70f9b0.png"></figure>“Oh, give me a home where the [broadband service is at least 100/20], where the [kids can study online and] play.”Well, thanks to the diligent work being done by the Kansas Office of Broadband Deployment (KOBD), you will be able to find that home in the Free State.Kansas gets its nickname from when it became the 34th state to join the Union in 1861, as a free state – that is, one where slavery was illegal.Kansas quickly came to occupy a niche in the American psyche; homesteads on vast tracts of open land beneath a sky full of stars promised freedom and a fresh start for many.&nbsp;But despite the enormous opportunities of moving out west, Kansans weren’t promised an easy life, and their state motto reflects this: Ad astra per aspera – latin for “to the stars through difficulties.”And indeed, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansascommerce.gov/about/meet-the-team/broadband/">Jade Piros de Carvalho and her team at KOBD</a> has embodied this adage to the letter – stalwart in the face of all of the challenges that have beared down on them. Ready is proud to power KOBD, helping them scale and grow in the ways that they need to in order to ensure that every Jayhawker has access to the broadband they need and deserve.KOBD is using Ready’s Grant Optimizer tool to enable the development of a statewide high-level design for a fiber network that reaches serviceable locations in even the most remote corners of the Free State.&nbsp;The KOBD team is also using Ready’s Challenge Process Coordinator to facilitate the state’s challenge process. Kansas is racing to be one of the first states to actually deploy BEAD funding as every day without deploying broadband infrastructure is another that families go without broadband.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Screenshot_2024_02_29_at_12_08_1_15e2683f90/Screenshot_2024_02_29_at_12_08_1_15e2683f90.png"></figure>Kansas is also making use of the Ready Research Platform as well as the Performance Test &amp; Survey in order to assist with broadband availability research and network design.A few things come to mind when most people think of the state of Kansas: agriculture, buffalo, sunflowers, and maybe the Wizard of Oz. But the KOBD team is working hard to get “high-speed broadband” added to Kansas’ game of word association.

The Stars are Aligning for Kansas as it seeks to improve broadband connectivity.

The Kansas Office of Broadband Deployment  is pushing hard to get Kansans Broadband

Kansas is Ready for BEAD

The Stars are Aligning for Kansas as it seeks to improve broadband connectivity

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The Free State is Working to Make Broadband Affordable and Accessible to All

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/In_blog_graphic_4_5b30a954c2/In_blog_graphic_4_5b30a954c2.png"></figure>Broadband Expansion and Access of Mississippi (BEAM), Mississippi’s state broadband office, has charted a course to 100 percent broadband coverage for the residents of The Magnolia State, powered by Ready’s suite of software solutions.&nbsp;Aside from being the state that’s most fun to spell out loud, Mississippi was ground zero for a new American sound as the birthplace of blues artists like&nbsp; B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Big Joe Williams.&nbsp;&nbsp;You also can’t forget the food scene in Mississippi either. Many out-of-staters have seen their jaws hit the floor after a bite of gas station fried chicken. Nothing served at the same address as diesel has the right to taste so good.&nbsp;But gas stations serve a purpose that may be unfamiliar to some. Oftentimes, a gas station is more than a place to fill up your truck; it’s the general store; it’s the local watering hole; and in Mississippi, they often serves as anchor institutions where local residents can access reliable broadband service. Tracking institutions like these is just one of the ways that Ready helps to power the State Broadband Office of Mississippi.&nbsp;Mississippi is using Ready’s Grantor Portal, Grant Optimizer, Performance Test &amp; Survey, and Challenge Process Coordinator to assist BEAM in connecting the state’s communities. Ready has also assisted with stakeholder outreach and engagement on the ground in Mississippi.The BEAM Team – known to their fans as the Dream Team – set an extremely high bar for state broadband offices around the country.&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/broadband-leaders/making-broadband-a-reality-for-mississippians">Sally Burchfield Doty</a>, a former Mississippi State Senator and Executive Director of the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff, leads a small but intensely driven team that has accomplished so much in such a narrow window of time.&nbsp;BEAM has managed hundreds of funding applications and deconflictions to their data, and enabled a request for comments window and a post-award lifecycle that extends for years in the future – all through a single platform.&nbsp;Sally and her team also make a point of spending time in the trenches, going to communities all around the state, engaging with the families and communities across The Magnolia State as far south as the Gulf Coast to the Delta region in the state’s northwest corner and the Black Belt in the northeast region.&nbsp;The Magnolia State has a long, winding road ahead to reach 100 percent broadband coverage, but they have built a foundation of success that will enable them to reach their dreams of broadband for all Mississippians.

Broadband for all is more than a slogan in The Magnolia State.

The Magnolia State continues to plant the seeds for BEAD success

Mississippi is Ready for BEAD

Broadband for all is more than a slogan in The Magnolia State

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Mississippi takes major steps towards BEAD readiness

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The Magnolia State continues to plant the seeds for BEAD success and beyond 

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Indiana_In_blog_graphic_96bd7accbf/Indiana_In_blog_graphic_96bd7accbf.png"></figure>Hoosiers can rest easy knowing that their state broadband office is pulling out all the stops to ensure that every family and community in Indiana gets served with affordable, reliable, high-speed broadband.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/about-indiana-history-and-trivia/emblems-and-symbols/what-is-a-hoosier/">Though no one is 100 percent certain where the term “Hoosier” originated</a>, one thing’s for sure – it certainly roles off the tongue much better than “Indianians” (which is technically also correct, but who would opt to use that over Hoosier?). Though less than 14 percent of the population of the Hoosier state lives in rural areas, in excess of 80 percent of the state’s area is devoted to farmland and forests. In fact,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/faqs/#:~:text=related%20to%20agriculture%3F-,Which%20are%20the%20top%2010%20agriculture%2Dproducing%20States%3F,%2C%20North%20Carolina%2C%20and%20Wisconsin.">according to the USDA</a>, Indiana ranks 8th in order of total agricultural output.<div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Optimizer_9e778408df/Optimizer_9e778408df.svg?updated_at=2024-02-26T21:54:40.711Z" alt="Grant Optimizer">
</div>&nbsp;Ensuring that Hoosiers have access to the broadband they need goes beyond telehealth, distance learning, and the other familiar components of digital equity that many people in 2024 have become familiar with. For a state like Indiana, technologies powered by broadband that enable innovations like precision agriculture are equally important, as they increase a farmer’s efficiency, and enable them to do more with less.`And that’s exactly what Ready aims to help the Indiana State Broadband office do with its suite of software.&nbsp;Indiana will utilize the Ready Research Platform, Grantor Portal, Grant Optimizer, and the Performance Test and Survey to assist its broadband office in bringing the internet to more families across the state, without the need to hire an army of experts.&nbsp;But what will all of those tools do?&nbsp;These tool’s represent a soup to nuts solution for Indiana; not only will the tools assist internet service providers in crafting a compelling and comprehensive grant application, it will also assist the state broadband office in evaluating and monitoring said applications. Additionally, the Ready Research Platform and Performance Test and Survey will allow the broadband office to play with a full deck – enabling them to make accurate, data-driven decisions that reflect the reality Hoosiers face on the ground.

Indiana plows a path to better broadband powered by Ready’s software.

Indiana is Ready for BEAD

The Hoosier State is using Ready’s suite of software to support their broadband office

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Indiana plows a path to better broadband

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Indiana Is Speeding to Bring Broadband to Every Hoosier

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<div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Proof_of_passing_1_a5d4e5c7a6/Proof_of_passing_1_a5d4e5c7a6.svg?updated_at=2024-02-16T22:37:53.076Z" alt="ARC for State Broadband Offices">
</div>&nbsp;The&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-equity-access-and-deployment-program">Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD)</a> Program is our country’s largest-ever investment in broadband infrastructure and arguably its last. $42.5 billion hangs in the balance, and tens of millions of families are depending on it for improved broadband connectivity.Ensuring broadband access, however, is more than award announcements and disbursing checks.&nbsp;Questions continue to surface while everyone awaits checks in the mail. BEAD’s careful deployment demands years of reporting and compliance auditing in addition to monitoring in order to ensure that funding is utilized efficiently.&nbsp;Providers are familiar with strict reporting and compliance requirements, but BEAD’s requirements are unlike any other. And, more importantly, they don’t end with the BEAD NOFO and its parent legislation, IIJA.&nbsp;NTIA is expected to release additional guidance later in 2024.It’s vital to our nation’s largest-ever broadband infrastructure investment that we empower state broadband offices and providers to meet program obligations.&nbsp;It’s why we’re pleased to announce Ready ARC&nbsp;Problems:&nbsp;Protecting America’s investment is a noble goal, but BEAD’s stringent post-award requirements create a burden for local, non-traditional providers unable to hire an entire team of compliance specialists. Self-reporting also poses its own challenges, and comes with waste, fraud and abuse risks.BEAD presents both an opportunity and challenge for states. States face numerous trackable project parameters that awardees must use to certify accuracy of progress reports. NTIA has adopted an address-level definition for passings, creating a geospatial challenge for state broadband offices.States are also encouraged to surpass minimum reporting and compliance requirements, such as increasing reporting frequency. Recipients are expected to comply with requirements from both the state and NTIA.&nbsp;This problem is exacerbated for grant recipients; meeting compliance and reporting requirements is labor intensive. Very few people want to discuss BEAD’s myriad procurement, labor and environmental regulations.The ARC addresses both problems by minimizing the burden of manual reporting and compliance by tethering directly to the awardee operator’s system of record. ARC uses software where it can be most helpful: the boring, banal back-office paperwork.&nbsp;This leads to the best outcome: all stakeholders united throughout the deployment journey.<h2>ARC for State Broadband Offices</h2>ARC ensures that provider’s live up to their obligations . It also helps grantors ensure awarded deployments remain on track throughout the post-award lifecycle.&nbsp;With ARC, your focus shifts to the most important job to be done: connecting families to better broadband.&nbsp;Empower your sub-grantees to deliver above and beyond.&nbsp;<ul><li>Combat waste, fraud, and abuse</li><li>Meet NTIA’s stringent obligations for reporting and monitoring</li><li>Compare progress to promises made: identify deviations from plans, highlight risks, and proactively communicate updates</li></ul>Through Proof of Passings&nbsp;and the Challenge Process Coordinator’s quarterly map update, Ready states can avoid the market failures of previous broadband grant funding cycles. No more promises made, promises broken.&nbsp;Track BEAD deployments in real timeMonitor sub-grantee progress while keeping up to date with deployment progress. Spreadsheets attached to emails won’t tell you whether service will degrade as a result of oversubscribed, under-invested equipment, but the network knows.<div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Report_cards_aff436cff9/Report_cards_aff436cff9.svg?updated_at=2024-02-16T21:04:23.683Z" alt="BEAD Dashboard">
</div><h2>ARC for BEAD applicants</h2>Apply for BEAD with confidence – at any size&nbsp;ARC saves busy providers of all sizes time by skipping the manual self-reporting&nbsp; and mountains of paperwork with a single digital console.&nbsp;This allows you to focus on your top priority: connecting happy subscribers. Software can’t pull fiber for you or deliver the great customer service you’re known for.&nbsp;Back Office Secret Sauce is your BEAD success platform built to help you replace your time-intensive, back-office processes with digital workflows.&nbsp;Bye, bye paperwork!<ul><li>Supply updates routinely</li><li>Coordinate deployment with marketing efforts</li></ul><div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/2_26a1778ca0/2_26a1778ca0.svg?updated_at=2024-02-16T21:04:18.366Z" alt="BEAD Whiteboard">
</div>&nbsp;<h2>ARC for key stakeholders</h2>Busy consultants&nbsp;who need to be able to do more with less.Utility insurers&nbsp;and&nbsp;investors leverage ARC to follow the journey of their grant-backed utility deployments.How does ARC work?&nbsp;ARC replaces manual self-reporting with software together with the proofs required from systems of record utilized by the awardee operator. Answer tough geospatial questions ✨automagically✨with the latest snapshot:<ul><li>Where is the network now?</li><li>&nbsp;How is service at location X?</li><li>What plans are available and at what price?</li><li>Are broadband performance obligations met?</li><li>Audit Trail to ensure all stakeholder interactions are captured and retrievable</li></ul>ARC gathers proof from operator systems of record and, unlike messy manual self-reporting, tethers operator equipment for source-of-truth.<div class="raw-html-embed"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Reporting_and_Compliance_tracking_0ca019e5c4/Reporting_and_Compliance_tracking_0ca019e5c4.svg?updated_at=2024-02-16T21:04:26.859Z" alt="Track Reporting and Compliance">
</div>Proof of PassingsARC’s open Proof of Passings Standard (POPS) allows you to use any BABA-compliant equipment and still benefit from the time savings.<ul><li>Geospatial attestations of service availability, quality, and affordability&nbsp;</li><li>Automate and digitize passings reporting process</li></ul>Proof of Marketing<ul><li>BEAD requires proof that awardees make demonstrable efforts to market plans to unserved and underserved locations.</li></ul>Proof of Labor<ul><li>Davis-Bacon and other labor and workforce requirements are just as vital to BEAD compliance as monitoring service.</li></ul>Broadband Audit<ul><li>The Broadband Audit serves as the ongoing, public report card that evaluates the state of broadband service and penetration in each state and territory</li><li>Get alerts for non-compliant events and upcoming requirements</li></ul>Performance Test &amp; Survey<ul><li>Double check and verify the broadband quality you expect to see within communities</li></ul>And more of the tools that make ARC:&nbsp;<ul><li>Proof of Service</li><li>Proof of Low Cost Option</li><li>Proof of Funding</li></ul>&nbsp;<h2>ARC in the wild: the Diamond State is Ready for BEAD</h2>Arkansas is the first state slated to utilize Ready’s automated Recording &amp; Compliance tools. Arkansas Broadband Office and Arkansas’ internet service providers will enhance their productivity and streamline this important component of the BEAD process between the state, applicants, consultants, and key&nbsp; stakeholders.&nbsp;

Simplifying Reporting and Compliance for every stage of the BEAD process.

Meet NTIA’s strict post-award reporting & compliance requirements 

Automating Reporting & Compliance for BEAD Grants: Introducing ARC

Get the proof you need to succeed in BEAD grants 

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Introducing ARC for BEAD

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Introducing ARC: Automated Reporting & Compliance™️ for BEAD Grants

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Screenshot_2024_02_15_at_8_43_21_PM_5a4bfe2ab9/Screenshot_2024_02_15_at_8_43_21_PM_5a4bfe2ab9.png"></figure>The road to BEAD compliance is one fraught with challenges, but thanks to the diligent work of the&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/state-broadband-offices/nevada">Nevada State Broadband Office</a>, Silver Staters are one step closer to being ready for BEAD;&nbsp;<a href="https://beadregister.nv.gov/">When Nevada launches their challenge process</a>, it will be powered by Ready’s Challenge Process Coordinator.&nbsp;Nevada is a state known for its subterranean treasures – whether that's the state’s namesake, silver – or gold and copper – or even black opals! Hopefully soon another precious resource will be found in vast quantities beneath the sands of Nevada: fiber!&nbsp;And it will take quite a bit of fiber to connect the entire state! Nevada is the seventh largest state by area at 109,781 square miles – just below Arizona and right above Colorado. Even though the state’s name is derived from the Spanish word for “snow clad” (courtesy of the Sierra Nevada mountains on its western border), it is actually the most arid state in the country with only 10.3 inches of rain per year.&nbsp;And across that sand (and snow), Nevada has got it all: vast stretches of rural land, tribal communities, and cities – not least of which is the Marriage Capital of the World, Las Vegas.&nbsp;To ensure that urban, rural, and tribal communities all get the broadband service they need and deserve, Nevada will be using Ready’s challenge process to facilitate improved communication between its state broadband office, its consultants, grant applicants, and eligible entities that will be filing challenges. The challenge process coordinator uses a single portal that serves as a repository for all challenges and rebuttals filed in the state.The software uses tools like automatic messaging to keep all parties up to date on the status of their challenge/rebuttal, along with a public map that reflects changes to application areas, and other tools that are purpose-built to allow small teams to take on huge tasks.&nbsp;And Nevada’s broadband office certainly faces a huge task on the road ahead; the NTIA allocated $416.7 million to Nevada through BEAD, tasking the office with connecting over 53,000 unserved locations and approximately 13,300 underserved locations.&nbsp;Despite the doubtless challenges they will face, Silver Staters’ broadband officials remain unwavering and unflinching in their efforts to connect every serviceable location to high speed, affordable, broadband.Nevada has joined a cadre of trailblazing states that use Ready’s software solutions to power their state broadband offices, and conduct their challenge processes. These states include Mississippi,&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/broadband-leaders/bayou-broadband">Louisiana</a>, Virginia, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, New Mexico, Delaware, North Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia,&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/congrats-montana-on-being-ready-for-bead">Montana</a>, and more. &nbsp;

The Silver State’s challenge process, powered by Ready, is right around the corner.

Nevada’s challenge process will be powered by Ready

Congrats Nevada on Being Ready for BEAD

Nevada’s challenge process will allow their small broadband office to do big things

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The Silver State strikes gold as it gears up for challenge process

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/In_blog_graphic_23be330db0/In_blog_graphic_23be330db0.png"></figure>Montana entered the next phase of its BEAD journey earlier this year in&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/montana-begins-broadband-challenge-process">launching its BEAD challenge process</a> powered by Ready.The Treasure State was allocated $628 million in BEAD funding last year. Montana currently has more than 50,000 unserved locations and more than 22,000 underserved locations. Connect Montana, a subagency of the Montana Department of Administration, has been tasked with administering BEAD funding and the state’s broadband infrastructure deployment.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/BEAD_CPC_png_2642c17715/BEAD_CPC_png_2642c17715.png"></figure>Montana’s challenge process features an end-to-end experience for the state broadband office, its consultants, and its challengers that includes a dedicated portal for all kinds of challenges and rebuttals. The process is simplified with automatic messaging, a public map built to NTIA standards, and more.&nbsp;Montana joins Mississippi,&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/broadband-leaders/bayou-broadband">Louisiana</a>, Virginia, Kansas, New York, Nevada, and many other leading states to utilize Ready’s tools to conduct their challenge process.

The Treasure State’s challenge process, powered by Ready, is on the horizon.

The Treasure State’s challenge process, powered by Ready, is on the horizon

Congrats Montana on Being Ready for BEAD

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<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/In_blog_graphic_2_796d4f7b85/In_blog_graphic_2_796d4f7b85.png"></figure>New York’s curtains are rising on the next phase of its BEAD journey this month as its challenge process, powered by Ready, is set to&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.ny.gov/new-york-state-broadband-challenge-process">commence later this month</a>.&nbsp;Connect All, New York State’s broadband office, has been tasked with administering BEAD funding and the state’s broadband infrastructure deployment.&nbsp;When most people think of New York, almost invariably, they think of the hard pavement of New York City. And perhaps that’s fair. With more than 8.3 million residents, it’s the largest city in the United States – more than double the size of the second largest city, Los Angeles.&nbsp;Even though the Big Apple may get the most sap, however, there is much more to the state than skyscrapers and concrete. In fact, the state is home to 33,500 farms across 7 million acres; approximately 20 percent of New York is farmland! New York is also home to 8 federally recognized indigenous tribes.&nbsp;The Empire State was allocated $664 million in BEAD funding as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with the goal of connecting every apartment block, every skyscraper, every farm, and every tribe in the state. Currently, the state has more than 80,000 unserved locations and 10,000 underserved locations. This is no small task.New York is slated to make history with its challenge process as it becomes the first state in the nation to implement a resident portal that allows everyday New Yorkers to submit provider level service challenge information. This allows for residents, who are typically unable to “challenge” locations, to do so and have greater participation in the BEAD process.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Application_Review_png_d24d73bb7d/Application_Review_png_d24d73bb7d.png"></figure>This is so critical because it's everyday New Yorkers who know their communities the best! They know that even though their building is supposed to have high speed broadband, the internet hasn’t worked for half of the building in months. They know that even though they can go down the street to the library to access the wi-fi, between the 6 and 8pm the service slows to a crawl, and no one can get anything done. These are perspectives and voices that would likely be overlooked without a resident portal.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/BEAD_CPC_png_1851998a2c/BEAD_CPC_png_1851998a2c.png"></figure>The Empire State’s challenge process is designed to help the state’s broadband office do more with less. So what does that mean? Well, it allows the office’s consultants, applicants, and challengers to administer, file, and respond to challenges via a shared portal. The Challenge Process Coordinator was designed to streamline every aspect of this process, and makes use of automatic messaging, a public map built to NTIA standards, and more tools all designed to scale the abilities of the office without the need to grow the team.&nbsp;New York joins Mississippi,&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/broadband-leaders/bayou-broadband">Louisiana</a>, Virginia, Kansas,&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/congrats-nevada-on-being-ready-for-bead">Nevada</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/congrats-montana-on-being-ready-for-bead">Montana</a>, and other leading states in utilizing Ready’s software tools to conduct their challenge process.&nbsp;

The Empire State makes waves with historic challenge process.

New York’s challenge process brings a new scene for BEAD

The Empire State’s challenge broadband sets new heights for broadband deployment.

New York’s groundbreaking challenge process awaits

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Little Rock, Arkansas is the hometown of stellar barbecue, Bill Clinton, and broadband pioneer WEHCO, the parent company of&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/isp-or-provider">internet service provider</a> Cableynx, which aims to connect families across Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas and Oklahoma.&nbsp;Today, more than 68,000 subscribers in these four states receive broadband service via wireless and fiber from Cablelynx. Its parent company was previously a radio station and currently provides cable TV service to more than 10,000 subscribers.&nbsp;Cablelynx’s technology base is primarily a hybrid of cable and fiber with 15% of customers having exclusively fiber service. The company’s future expansion plans are primarily focused on bringing fiber to the home.&nbsp;Cablelynx has leveraged&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/a-fool-proof-recipe-for-stakeholder-engagement">stakeholder relationships</a>, particularly state broadband offices, to become competitive for BEAD.Because of this, Laurie Ringler, WEHCO’s Director of Marketing, Reporting and Government Affairs splits herself between in-person meetings in Arkansas and Mississippi and virtual meetings in Texas with their respective broadband teams.&nbsp;“It’s about being as physically present as possible whether that’s me hopping in my car and driving to an event in Mississippi or tuning into a virtual event in Texas,” Ringler said. “These events and relationships with these offices are crucial to our work.”&nbsp;This also ensures that your voice is heard especially on future challenges, such as low-cost service plans and workforce issues.&nbsp;Cablelynx, during the early days of the pandemic, partnered with the Hot Springs School District to provide subsidized internet to students at no direct expense to the consumer.&nbsp;“They were literally giving us a list of student’s numbers and we were reaching out directly to tell them that they could have&nbsp; Internet being paid for by the district,” Charlotte Dial, WEHCO’s VP of Administration, said.&nbsp;As part of BEAD, the&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/national-telecommunications-and-information-administration">National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA</a>)requires&nbsp; providers like Cablelynx to make this more permanent by offering low-cost service plans to a wider pool of customers.&nbsp;“Each of these states are handling low-cost service plans differently,” Laurie Ringler, WEHCO’s Director of Marketing, Reporting and Government Affairs said. “Arkansas is using a formula to figure out an amount on a county-by-county basis,&nbsp; Texas and Oklahoma are working to set a flat rate.&nbsp;We need to know what’s going on in advance so we can ensure that the revenue loss that’s going to happen, as a result, is justifiable.”&nbsp;Utilizing geospatial services has also served as a boost to Cablelynx’s operation.&nbsp;During the summer of 2023, Cablelynx utilized Broadband.money’s geospatial technology in their Mississippi’s Capital Projects Fund application to properly visualize the area that they were seeking to serve.&nbsp;<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Quote_2_3805373632/Quote_2_3805373632.png"> Heading further into 2024, Dial and Ringler are focused on ensuring that they heed the warning of&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/think-you-can-complete-your-bead-application-in-90-days-think-again">Lori Adams</a> and others to be fully prepared for the (deceptively) long application process ahead of them.

The internet service provider was previously a cable operator and radio station.

The Arkansas-based ISP is laying the groundwork for a successful BEAD application.

Here’s Cablelynx’s secret weapon to tackle BEAD

The Arkansas-based ISP has multiple tools to prepare them for BEAD

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Cablelynx’s secret weapon to tackle BEAD

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WEHCO’s Cablelynx has a secret weapon to connect more families to broadband

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Few things are as controversial as family recipes that rely on the same ingredients but have different preparation processes.&nbsp;Let’s be honest. Can anyone really make a rub like your proverbial Uncle Pete’s?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;States, much like families, all have a desired outcome for their stakeholder engagement efforts but take different approaches. What’s important, however, is that states are in agreement of the essential ingredients to engage stakeholders for BEAD and beyond.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/recipe_1_06d67c61e1/recipe_1_06d67c61e1.png"></figure><h2>Build as much of a robust network of loosely organized (yet effective!) task forces for local communities across your states as possible&nbsp;</h2>State broadband offices should establish a directory of stakeholders for communities across their entire state. Listed in this directory should be elected officials, nonprofit leaders, grassroots volunteers and key community leaders, regional planning organizations and economic development officials.&nbsp;“Many states will see that there’s going to be key individuals in each community that wear multiple hats mostly on a volunteer basis,”&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/events/ask-me-anything-with-earnie-holtrey-deputy-director-of-the-indiana-broadband-office">Earnie Holtrey</a>, Indiana’s former state broadband director, said. “That’s where we found them in Indiana whether it was economic development officers at the county level or really passionate individuals who had taken up the cause for years.”&nbsp;Don’t forget to look: Looking to these local community leaders to figure out best practices for promoting events and call-to-actions. Some communities might be heavily engaged on Facebook or others might be really engaged in a local elected official’s newsletter.&nbsp;“It’s important to leverage these existing resources and expertise within these local communities to enhance broadband infrastructure and services,” Holtrey said.&nbsp; &nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/recipe_2_0e45e6ba3a/recipe_2_0e45e6ba3a.png"></figure><h2>Meet the stakeholders where they are and&nbsp;actually listen to them.&nbsp;</h2>Don’t: Make rural and underserved communities, anchor institutions, such as libraries, schools and healthcare centers and Tribal communities an afterthought.&nbsp;State broadband offices should be present in communities across their state to learn about the on-the-ground challenges faced by stakeholders and sharing how they plan to solve them.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMnN755SguY">Venneth Iyengar,</a> executive director of Connect Louisiana, and Thomas Tyler, deputy director of Connect Louisiana, have built a network that has allowed them to travel to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B_TROVlGvY">all 64 of Louisiana’s parishes and over 100 towns and villages</a>.&nbsp;Next door in Mississippi,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxyc8zGfRSI">Sally Doty</a>, director of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM), has consistently been on the road traveling across the 48,430 square miles of the Magnolia State&nbsp;<a href="https://mississippitoday.org/2022/10/26/broadband-inequities-in-delta/">since the agency’s first event in October 2022</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;“You have to reach people in different ways,” Doty said. “You’ve got to use every different method you can to try and reach out to people.”&nbsp;One of the best methods to ensure that you’re listening to stakeholders is establishing clear feedback mechanisms that will continuously gather input from local communities. Doing so ensures that the strategic plan remains responsive to evolving needs.It’s vital for state broadband offices to conduct thorough needs assessments with a reliable partner. These assessments involve numerous tools, including&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/broadband-audit">broadband audits</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/products/performance-test-and-survey">performance test and surveys</a>, to understand the current state of broadband access, gaps and challenges being faced by various local communities.&nbsp;“Learn as much as you can about the current status, short term solutions and key players,” Holtrey said. “Doing so allows for states to set application guidelines so providers who best serve the needs of each specific community can be awarded the funding,” Holtrey added.&nbsp; &nbsp;<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/recipe_3_318b7df8e3/recipe_3_318b7df8e3.png"><h2>Go easy on your expectations for your audience’s knowledge level on broadband, BEAD, and anything else that we think about non-stop every day.&nbsp;</h2>Access and affordability of broadband service is a crucial issue with enormous impact on the quality of life for millions of Americans.&nbsp;Now that we’ve clarified this, it’s important to remember that community members and constituents are thinking about broadband in conjunction with so many other items, such as working their day jobs, spending time with their families and doing anything besides battling special interests and monopolies.&nbsp;This means to be gracious to your stakeholders if they ask you to repeat yourself, lack a clear understanding of the timeline and are completely unfamiliar with jargon, acronyms, the inner workings of&nbsp;<a href="https://broadband.money/blog/everything-broadband-pros-need-to-know-about-performance-bonds">performance bonds</a>, or anything else that state broadband offices spend a bulk of their time thinking about.&nbsp;Help these communities increase their knowledge by conducting policy workshops and forums to discuss regulatory and policy changes that can facilitate broadband deployment.&nbsp; &nbsp;<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/recipe_4_6736b7dec0/recipe_4_6736b7dec0.png"><h2>Provide an extra serving of clear expectations and transparency&nbsp;</h2>State broadband offices should provide clear expectations for stakeholders’ efforts in closing the digital divide. Each request should be specific,&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/data-driven-state-broadband-offices">measurable,</a> manageable and lean heavily upon their strengths within their community or organizations.&nbsp;One of the best ways to establish clear expectations for state broadband offices is through documentation and transparency.&nbsp;“Be sure to document the engagement process and ensure transparency in decision-making,” Holtrey said. “Share relevant information with the public and stakeholders to build trust and understanding.”&nbsp; &nbsp;<img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/recipe_5_af59e5930f/recipe_5_af59e5930f.png"><h2>Don’t withhold a single tool to help your state’s broadband efforts&nbsp;</h2>State broadband offices should be sure to not leave a single tool unused in your efforts to close their state’s digital divide.&nbsp;Be sure to explore public-private partnerships as an opportunity to leverage private sector resources and expertise. Don’t forget to engage with local internet service providers (ISPs), telecommunications providers and&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/blog/united-fibers-path-to-bringing-broadband-to-northwest-missouri-s-rural-communities">rural electric co-ops</a> to enhance broadband coverage.&nbsp;State broadband offices have ample resources available, like the&nbsp;<a href="https://ready.net/state-broadband-office-software">Ready platform</a> which includes mapping tools and data analysis, which can be used to prioritize investment and deployment strategies.&nbsp;“It’s important to remember that the NTIA is serious about stakeholder engagement and that it will be important throughout the entire BEAD process,” Holtrey said. “It’s bigger than just the challenge process and will be necessary with future projects.”&nbsp;

Five ingredients  to engage stakeholders for BEAD and beyond 

A step-by-step guide for perfecting your state’s stakeholder engagement

Preparing stakeholder engagement efforts – the right way

Five easy ingredients to engage your state’s stakeholders for BEAD and beyond

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Want the perfect recipe for stakeholder engagement? It starts with….

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 A Fool-Proof Recipe for Stakeholder Engagement

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United Fiber, a subsidiary of United Electric Cooperative, has deployed broadband to more than 50 communities across northwest Missouri, including some of the state’s most rural areas.And that is only the beginning, United Fiber’s general manager Darren Farnan said.The electric co-op, among the most rural in the state, has since 2010 connected more than 50 communities across the region including a current project where it is expected to provide broadband service to the entire city of St. Joseph, Missouri which has a population of roughly 80,000 people.“While it might seem like an overnight success, it isn’t,” Farnan said. &nbsp;“It happened by taking risks, showing our success and continuing to grow at each opportunity.”Since the early 2000s, the Maryville, Missouri-based electric co-op provided satellite internet service but was aware that customers would inevitably outgrow the service. This led to applying and being awarded $21 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for all 14 of its substations, or 5000 passes in 2010.“Almost 90% did not have access, according to our survey at that time, to [4 Mbps download by 1 Mbps upload] which was the definition of broadband at that time,” Farnan said.During the building process, United Fiber began generating interest from nearby communities, such as Cameron and King City. King City’s population was around 5,000 while nearby Cameron boasted 10,000 residents and owned their own poles making the process even cheaper.Meanwhile, Mosaic Life Care, a major healthcare provider in nearby St. Joseph, Missouri, reached out requesting that United Fiber provide broadband service to 13 of its buildings. United Fiber, while connecting Mosaic, eventually connected 100 additional businesses on the same build.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Quote_1_3a1fd856dc/Quote_1_3a1fd856dc.png"></figure>“We probably weren’t ready for all of that, in hindsight, but you have to strike while the iron is hot,” Farnan said. “We started building many of these communities by just building through Main Street in order to connect critical businesses like banks and community anchor institutions, such as schools and health centers, since we didn’t have enough financial backing at the time.”Starting early has paid dividends for United Fiber which was awarded $61 million from federal and state funding to deploy broadband to some of Missouri’s most rural communities.An early start and commitment to building smaller communities first not only impressed grantors, but the co-op’s lenders who were initially hesitant to fund their efforts.“Our loans initially would start off at between $3-5 million dollars per build, which isn’t as much as it sounds when you’re factoring building two and a half meters per mile, but we’d start building slowly and show results over a period of roughly three years.”Similar to other co-ops considering expanding into broadband, United Fiber’s earlier risks were deciding to provide broadband service to non-member areas and navigating reporting and compliance.“There’s plenty of new challenges for co-ops to navigate, but on the bright side, there’s also more than 200 co-ops who have successfully done this providing plenty of models to look after,” Farnan said. “<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/davis-bacon-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Davis-Bacon</a> compliance and managing your asset base are some of the big risks and it’s important to remember that we’re in a business known to avoid risk. There’s also, on the other hand, so many resources out there, including Broadband USA and Ready, to overcome this.”United Fiber, meanwhile, decided to provide broadband service outside of its member area by comparing its strengths to competitors and tackling smaller projects with plans to grow over time.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/Quote_2_085bfdc211/Quote_2_085bfdc211.png"></figure>“It takes some creativity to say that we can provide a service that’s much better than what’s out there and build some areas outside our member footprint that can actually benefit our members,” Farnan said. “It’s not too different from the electric utility business other than it being a bit more competitive but it also brings more flexibility as there’s areas that we couldn’t serve electrically but are now able to provide broadband service to.”The risks seem to have paid off, as well. More than 80% of United Fiber’s broadband customers are not electric customers with the company anticipating more than 30,000 subscribers in St. Joseph, Missouri upon completion of the build. &nbsp;

he secret sauce includes strategic thinking, measuring risks and building wins.

How Missouri’s most rural electric co-op is deploying broadband

United Fiber’s bringing quality, affordable broadband to Missouri’s rural corner

Missouri’s most rural electric co-op is taking rural broadband to the next level.

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United Fiber goes the extra mile to bring broadband service to northwest Missouri.

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United Fiber’s path to bringing broadband to northwest Missouri’s rural communities

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Delaware and Montana has become the latest states to have Volume 1 of its BEAD initial proposal approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.&nbsp;Ready congratulates Roddy Flynn and the Delaware, and Misty Ann GIles of Montana, and their teams, for this important step toward getting broadband access toward all of the states’ citizens.With this step, Delaware officials said they plan to kick off its challenge “within the next few weeks.” The states are free to begin the challenge within one week of approval by the NTIAVolume 1 of the Initial Proposal details each states’ plans for a challenge process to determine BEAD-eligible locations.Delaware received just over the statutory minimum of $100 million, which the state has said will be enough to connect the un- and underserved locations remaining after its ARPA dollars are spent. Montana was allocated $628 million.&nbsp;

The two states have become the latest (one of only five so far) to receive NTIA approval of their Volume 1 BEAD plans.

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Congratulations to Delaware and Montana for NTIA Approval

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Louisiana has become the first U.S. state or territory in the nation to have both volumes of its initial BEAD approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.&nbsp;Ready congratulates Veneeth Iyengar, Thomas Tyler and the Connect Louisiana team for such a tremendous step towards their goal of eliminating the Bayou State’s digital divide by 2029.&nbsp;Connect Louisiana’s proposal showcases the state’s work in building a telecommunications infrastructure that can sustain natural disasters in the state which have become increasingly common, ensuring that the Gumbo 2.0 grant process is competitive and open to all providers and builds a low-cost plan that balances the affordability needs of families and the long-term financial success of internet service providers.“Louisianans should be thrilled that we have set the pace for the country in terms of execution and speed,” Veneeth Iyengar, executive director of Connect Louisiana,&nbsp;<a href="https://connect.la.gov/media/a40jyhpl/louisiana-ip-vol-2-final.pdf">said</a>. “Our projects will have a leg up in securing access to labor, materials and investment capital and Louisianans will ultimately receive the benefits of broadband expansion far sooner than residents of any state.”&nbsp;Volume I of the Initial Proposal details Connect Louisiana’s plan for a challenge process to determine BEAD-eligible locations. Volume II covers the specific actions that Louisiana will undertake to ensure that every location has access to high-speed, affordable and reliable Internet service.&nbsp;

Louisiana has again made BEAD history by becoming the first state to receive NTIA approval on both Volume I and II of its initial proposal.

Connect Louisiana secures NTIA approval for entire BEAD initial proposal

Bayou State makes BEAD history again

Connect Louisiana has received NTIA approval for its entire BEAD initial proposal

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Congrats Louisiana on making BEAD History Again!

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Congrats Louisiana!: Making BEAD History Again Vol II Approved

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Optimize your state's BEAD allocation to set up generations of success.

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Ace BEAD Implementation with Data-Driven Principles

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Key Principles for the Data-driven State Broadband Office

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Adam Geisler, the division chief for Tribal connectivity and nation coordination at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, has joined Native-owned Tribal Ready as Chief Operating Officer.NTIA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the executive branch's chief telecommunications agency, and has played a crucial role in supporting Tribal connectivity.Geisler was one of the first Commerce Department employees in the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program at the NTIA, the executive branch’s chief telecommunication agency.As such, Geisler was instrumental in the development and deployment of $2 billion in funding to Indian country from the time the program began as a result of the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, passed at the end of 2020. About $1 billion was devoted to Tribal connectivity in the appropriations act; the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of November 2021 provided an additional $2 billion in funding for the Tribal broadband program.“A large part of what I did was to help them develop a strategy and awareness around the program, including awareness in Indian country,” Geisler said in an interview.Geisler, who is a member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, was attracted to Tribal Ready by the fact that it has “the same vision for where the internet is going and where technology is going” as he was implementing at the NTIA, he said.Further, Tribal Ready “recognizes that true Tribal sovereignty in a digital age is going to require an extra form of digital sovereignty,” said Geisler.The new COO will work alongside Tribal Ready CEO Joe Valandra, who said of Geisler, “he’s going to add some tremendous assets to what we’re doing. We’re over the moon about it.”Valandra has articulated the importance of Tribal Nations signing up for the Virtual Tribal Broadband Office at TribalReady.com.&nbsp;<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2022/11/6-ghz-wi-fi-coordination-systems-tribal-data-partnership-free-speech-on-twitter/">The new entity works in close partnership with Ready.net</a>, which gives Tribal Ready access to detailed broadband data, mapping and software tools.Just as every state and territory has a state-wide broadband office, Tribes need to be represented through a voice in Washington focused on their needs, Valandra has said.<a href="https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2023/02/tribal-ready-wants-better-broadband-data-to-benefit-indian-county/">Tribal Ready, which launched in February</a>, helps Tribes plan, build and operate communications networks in unserved communities. The company hopes to use its new telecommunications capacity to partner with Tribes to run their networks, preserving ownership and control for Tribes.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Geisler helped deploy $2 billion to Indian Country through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program

Tribal Ready welcomes former NTIA Division Chief Adam Geisler as chief operating officer

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NTIA's Tribal Division Chief Adam Geisler Joins Native-owned Tribal Ready

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Ready.net announced the appointment of broadband policy and mapping expert Dustin Loup as the company’s new Director of Community Development.&nbsp;Loup comes from his position as project director for broadband and digital equity at Washington State University Extension where he led a statewide project to support broadband and digital equity planning efforts at the local and tribal level. In this work, he worked closely with the State Broadband Office to support capacity and planning framework for Broadband Action Teams and Tribes to provide critical input into the State’s BEAD Five-Year Action and Digital Equity Plans.&nbsp;He has also served as the program manager of the National Broadband Mapping Coalition on behalf of the Marconi Society for the past year and a half and will continue to serve in this role.The National Broadband Mapping Coalition was founded in 2021 to facilitate coordination and alignment around the critical work of mapping and measuring broadband availability and performance in the United States. During his time with the Coalition, it grew from 25 people to over 300 participants from a wide range of stakeholders, including every every level of government, and has become a leading voice on broadband mapping issues.&nbsp;Over the past year, the Coalition has focused heavily on the FCC’s National Broadband Map and the State Challenge Process under BEAD, advocating for policies and outcomes aimed at elevating the role of ground-truth data in critical decisions about broadband policy and funding. While it is difficult to attribute any specific policy decisions to any one source, many of the approaches that the National Broadband Mapping Coalition has called for have been incorporated in part into the NTIA’s BEAD Challenge Process policies, including shifting the burden of proof from the challenger to the challenged if there are a certain number of challenges for the area through the Area Challenge Module and recognizing that speed test data can provide valid evidence when employing a rigorous methodological approach.&nbsp;Loup expressed his excitement about joining the team at Ready, because they are driven by the goal of supporting the most effective and equitable outcome possible in the deployment of this generational funding for deploying broadband to unserved and unserved communities.The tools Ready has created and are creating “have the ability to empower states, communities, and tribes to reach the best outcome,” he said, “Not only do the tools and team at Ready work to make that more efficient and effective, but also more equitable.”Loup’s ultimate goal is to get high-speed internet access to the people that need it most by supporting the development of tools and resources for the states, localities, and tribes that will reach the best outcomes. In this role, he will work with partners, states, tribes, and localities to support the development of strategies, tools, and resources to work through the barriers and reach the best possible outcome in working toward universal service and adoption.&nbsp;Loup has always been amazed at the power of the internet to provide access to communication and information. He has spent his entire career on various internet policy components, including a stint in the global domain name system governance. Over the course of his work, Loup has continued to return again and again to the issue of tackling digital divide as a way to include all communities in the benefits of the internet.

Ready welcomes Dustin Loup to the team as the company's new Director of Community Development.

Marconi Society program manager of the National Broadband Mapping Coalition Dustin Loup joins Ready to help empower states, communities, and tribes.

Dustin Loup Departs from National Broadband Mapping Coalition to Join Ready to help empower states, communities, and tribes, 

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Mapping Expert Dustin Loup Joins Ready as Director of Community Development

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<h2>Challenge Fabric</h2>This is a quick announcement of three key new product features in the cloud-based Ready broadband provider mapping platform, in time for challenging Fabric data and getting ready for BEAD grants:<ol><li>Location-level insights</li><li>Secondary addresses</li><li>Anchor institutions&nbsp;</li></ol><h3>Introducing Location-level Insights</h3>Subscribers can now use Ready’s mapping service to gain demand point-level insights (also known as Broadband Serviceable Locations in FCC / Fabric parlance) into potential new areas of coverage.&nbsp;As a broadband grant seeker or state broadband office, you’re now able to build detailed analyses of proposal areas at the most precise level possible: individual serviceable locations, as opposed to census block level.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/1_gif_fda2d4d216/1_gif_fda2d4d216.gif"></figure>Conduct more accurate analysis and research on where families and other subscribers live and aggregate as many demand points as possible for your BEAD grant application.&nbsp;<h3>Introducing Secondary Addresses</h3>Now the broadband grants mapping platform offers you the ability to count additional demand points located at secondary addresses like apartment buildings.&nbsp;This is important for BEAD grant applicants because you need to capture the true number of subscribers you aim to serve. The Federal Communications Commission’s fabric map undercounts secondary addresses since it counts multiple dwelling units like apartment buildings as one “broadband serviceable location.”With broadband.money’s broadband grant mapping platform you can estimate a more accurate demand level within complex multi-dwelling unit situations such as apartment buildings that might house 100 or families – rather than the one that would be counted in the FCC’s fabric. This enables BEAD applicants to apply for and defend a truly reflective share of grants that fund the requisite amount of work that needs to be completed to serve all 100 families.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/2_ae4bf61cc4/2_ae4bf61cc4.png"></figure><h3>Map and Engage Anchor Institutions</h3>In IIJA, the White House set a goal of getting “Internet to All.” However, FCC’s Fabric map omits anchor institutions entirely.&nbsp;That omission is at odds with the intent of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which specifically instructs the administration to cover small anchor institutions (like libraries) without gigabit level service.<figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-public-assets/3_382fe1fd38/3_382fe1fd38.png"></figure>The platform has you covered: Explore anchor institutions by provider, level of service, and proximity to serviceable broadband locations. The broadband grant mapping platform shows you anchor institutions such as libraries, hospitals, churches and others – in addition to commercial entities in your area.&nbsp;Enroll now for these tools and many more on your quest to win and defend broadband grants.&nbsp;<h3>Broadband Audits</h3>We've also mapped every local jurisdiction's broadband connectivity profile.<a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-audits" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Broadband audits </a>establish the ground truth of America's broadband reality. Each broadband audit tracks crucial data ranging from internet speeds and broadband coverage to demographic and spatial information for a given place.&nbsp;Discover <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/unserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unserved </a>and <a href="https://broadband.money/broadband-grant-terms/underserved-location" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">underserved </a>broadband areas at the state, city, county, and tribal community level. Use this as an alternative to Fabric to win and defend your fair share of the largest ever broadband grant funding program in history.

This is a quick announcement of three key new product features in the cloud-based Ready broadband provider mapping platform, in time for challenging Fabric data and getting ready for BEAD grants.

Ready unveils its broadband provider mapping platform, in time for challenging Fabric data and getting ready for BEAD grants. Get data on Location-level Insights, Secondary Addresses, and Anchor Institutions.

Announcing Serviceable Location-level Insights, Secondary Addresses and Anchor Institution Data

Ready unveils its broadband provider mapping platform, in time for challenging Fabric data and getting ready for BEAD grants.

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Challenge Fabric Data and Get Ready for BEAD

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Announcing Serviceable Location-level Insights, Secondary Addresses, and Anchor Institution Data

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Providers and local communities looking to apply for federal and state broadband funding will soon have a way to quickly collaborate and to estimate their network costs, thanks to a new partnership between Broadband.money and Nokia.&nbsp;The two companies <a href="https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2022/09/07/nokia-partners-with-broadbandmoney-to-help-connect-us-communities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">unveiled the partnership on Wednesday</a> (and we're very excited about it, since Nokia has helped to unleash world-class broadband all over world.) The goal is to help local broadband providers to connect unserved and underserved communities in a cost-efficient way, and to put them on equal footing with more well-funded competitors.<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://twitter.com/jase/status/1566482815599792129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.notion.so%2Freadynet%2FCommunity-Ambassadors-Meeting-September-6-2022-ad60be8a75fb4360b27393542d5691a1%23543cbb7e1a36424898b3cb2e734bec81"></oembed></figure>Broadband.money helps providers and communities visualize the scope of projects more easily with its platform, collaborate on grant applications and discover match funding. Nokia will provide Broadband.money users with access to tutorials, blueprint network designs and tools to help work out the equipment they will need, further simplifying the grant application process. The company is one of the first of other partners Broadband.money expects to work with to make the broadband grant application process as easy as possible.&nbsp;The platform enables providers and local communities to seamlessly coordinate online to develop evidence-based broadband grant proposals – all without the time-wasting burden of paper and unwieldy PDF files.Federal and state governments in the U.S. are committing billions to connect every resident to the internet at an affordable price. That's why Ready and Broadband.money are offering <a href="https://discuss.broadband.money/c/get-broadband-grant-alerts-news/fcc-open-meeting-on-affordable-connectivity-program#comment_wrapper_10138562" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Turnkey ACP</a>. Broadband.money and Nokia are committed to helping everyone to reach those goals quickly, efficiently, and transparently. &nbsp;Successful grant applications for funding programs like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act's Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment, Middle Mile, Tribal, and Digital Equity programs require comprehensive data analysis. Broadband grant applicants need to present detailed information on proposed service areas, from socio-economic makeup to existing broadband connectivity available to residents, information on community anchor institutions and businesses, and physical information such as flooding risks and existing network assets.Broadband.money aids this process by providing geospatial insights, predictive analytics, business intelligence, broadband grant templates and empirical data in a collaborative, and easy-to-use interface. Grant applicants use the platform’s visualization, presentation and management tools to source data for custom-drawn areas, develop projects where they want to provide service, then manage ongoing reporting and compliance obligations throughout the full grant lifecycle.To complete their business cases, grant funding applicants also require specific details of the type of equipment that will be used and how much it will cost to build the planned network. Through this partnership, service providers and communities will now have access to blueprint network designs and equipment planning tools from Nokia to help them build their business case, hugely simplifying the grant application process.Nokia's network solutions <a href="https://www.nokia.com/about-us/company/worldwide-presence/north-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">connect about 90 percent of the US population</a>, and its fixed networks power more than 50 percent of the country's fixed telecommunications lines. It's one of the world's most venerable technology companies. So yeah, you can kind of say the company knows how to estimate the cost of networks.&nbsp;“America’s making its largest ever investment in broadband," said Jase Wilson, Ready.net's co-founder and CEO. "Every dollar must go to efficient, built-to-last local networks in order to deliver on NTIA (the National Telecommunications and Information Administration)'s vision for high-performance, affordable access for all. As the software and data platform for local providers, we’re honored to partner with Nokia – the worldwide leader in carrier-grade fiber networks.”For an easy-to-understand guide on how Broadband.money works, check out our “<a href="https://broadband.money/how-it-works" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How it Works</a>” page.For a comprehensive and clear guide on U.S. broadband funding, check out Nokia's guide: <a href="https://www.nokia.com/about-us/newsroom/articles/u-s-broadband-infrastructure-funding-explained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">US Broadband Infrastructure Funding Explained</a>.&nbsp;

Broadband.money and Nokia will help local broadband providers connect unserved and underserved communities. 

Broadband.money and Nokia partner to level the playing field for broadband grant applicants.

Need an easier way to estimate network costs for broadband grant applications?

Broadband.money and Nokia partner up to level the playing field for broadband grant applicants.

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Broadband.money partners with Nokia to enable speedy broadband grant applications

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<h2 style="margin-left:auto;">A New Age</h2>Sometime around 66 million years ago, a San Francisco-sized asteroid affectionately named Chicxulub Impactor hurtled itself rather belligerently into the tropical waters just offshore of the Yucatan Peninsula. Not everyone was pleased.&nbsp;Every life form within 300 miles perished instantly upon impact, which sounds really awful, unless you asked a life form within 3,000 miles how they felt: their deaths were by fire, burial, and asphyxiation. But even they had it lucky, according to many life forms elsewhere on Earth, who would not receive the news of their impending demise until weeks later. They would perish slowly in cruel and inconvenient ways over the following months and years, from causes including starvation, cannibalization, and just plain boredom.&nbsp;Yet many life forms would go on about living life as if the whole Chicxulub affair never happened. Some would even go on to do quite well with their careers.&nbsp;No matter where you are in the world, if you dig deep enough, you’ll cross a distinct line that scientists more or less agree vouches for the Chicxulub Impactor and its aftermath. The most striking difference between the ages? On a planet previously ruled by dinosaurs, there are no more dinosaurs.&nbsp;<h2 style="margin-left:auto;">A(nother) New Age: The Age of Starlink</h2><figure class="image"><img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-dev-public-assets/another_new_age_e72952b096/another_new_age_e72952b096.jpeg"></figure>Starlink’s coming. There will be losers and winners.Starlink brings to today’s telecom what Chicxulub Impactor brought to life forms around the time it decided to drop in on Earth. Some unfortunate ISPs are going to die very sudden deaths. Others will die over the coming months and years. Yet thousands of today’s ISPs will carry on, and some among them will thrive.&nbsp;This analogy is mediocre at best, or at least ironic since Starlink would not work for any life form anywhere on earth in the centuries that followed Chicxulub Impactor’s unannounced arrival. Too much dust for Dishy McFlatface. More on why that’s important to remember soon.&nbsp;First, there are many reasons why some ISPs should be full-on terrified about what’s coming, while others should be excited for the opportunities that will emerge once the signal-blocking proverbial dust settles. We are entering a new age – the Age of Starlink – and while not every ISP will be pleased, others who embrace a weird, often-forgotten trick will flourish.<h2 style="margin-left:auto;">Starlink already works.</h2>Starlink is live in beta for thousands of (mostly) ecstatic subscribers around the world. Their “Better Than Nothing” Beta appears by every category of measure to be an overwhelming success. Don’t take our word for it: <a href="https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/starlink">see</a> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/nmrhyb/for_every_1_second_that_i_download_something">for</a> <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink">yourself</a>.Remember:&nbsp;<ol><li>There are <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/08/23/spacex-ships-100000-starlink-terminals-to-customers-eyes-future-launches-using-starship/amp/">only around 1,700</a> out of <a href="https://spacenews.com/spacex-submits-paperwork-for-30000-more-starlink-satellites/">an eventual 30,000</a> planned satellites launched</li><li>They still haven’t switched on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-space_optical_communication">space lasers</a> (pew pew!).&nbsp;</li></ol>If we’re already seeing results like this at 5% deployment while primary features aren’t yet active, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22435030/starlink-satellite-internet-spacex-review">and we remember that Starlink is far from finished</a> deploying its game-changing tech, it’s easy to imagine that Starlink will soon be able to provide strong speed and latency most places, most* of the time. While it was easy and perhaps cathartic for established providers to dismiss their seemingly pie-eyed ambitions, the time has come for local ISPs to confront a hard truth: Starlink is a killer product.<h2 style="margin-left:auto;">Starlink will be a fierce rival</h2>Recently, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/06/spacexs-shotwell-no-plan-for-tiered-starlink-internet-pricing.html">clarified her company’s focus on rural America</a>, stating that Starlink “will be able to serve every rural household in the United States,” or “roughly 60 million people.”With its global footprint, a team of elite engineers, access to abundant capital, stunningly effective product, and global ambition, we predict that Starlink will grow its worldwide subscriber base to be as large as Comcast – America’s largest ISP – within three years.<h2 style="margin-left:auto;">Weak ISPs will die. Strong ISPs will live.&nbsp;</h2>At Ready, we are fortunate to get the chance to work daily with some of the fastest-growing ISPs in the U.S., as well as some of the investors pouring billions of dollars into broadband infrastructure. Our product helps local ISPs connect more people to better services. We follow Starlink’s progress closely and get to hear many perspectives about what effects Starlink might have on the ISP industry over the coming years.&nbsp;We are very excited about Starlink, and applaud their team for bringing a world-changing invention to life. We think Starlink will change the world for the better. It will give the U.S. copper cartel a run for its money, forcing them to compete, just like Tesla spurred rival automakers to embrace electric.&nbsp;We believe Starlink will become the world’s largest ISP, but that it will never become the world’s only ISP, and that it will paradoxically increase demand from strong local providers, for several reasons:<ol><li>Cost/convenience: The mass market might not love the $500 up-front, DIY install model as much as beta period early adopters. This remains to be seen.</li><li>Capacity: Starlink is close to magic in its leap-forward progression, yet it still obeys the laws of physics. There is already an exponential increase in demand for bandwidth. We believe Starlink will propel humankind from the zettabyte era of bandwidth to the yottabyte era, by bringing tens or hundreds of millions more ultra-high bandwidth users into the 21st century, contributing to the bandwidth need of creators and consumers. Fully deployed, Starlink isn’t even capable of serving the entire zettabyte era, let alone the order-of-magnitude growth in demand we believe it will induce.</li><li>Availability: There are many critical situations and contexts where Starlink simply won’t work, no matter how near-magic the technology proves to be. Such events occur when Dishy encounters obstacles.&nbsp;If upload speed is the Achilles Heel of cable networks, packet loss will be the Achilles heel for LEOs.</li></ol>Some of these events occur thousands of times per day at different times around the world. Others are tragic events that strike suddenly, at such times when we need reliable internet the most. That something could be ground objects like trees, buildings, or passing objects like airplanes, hang gliders, magicida swarms, or murmurations of starlings. Add to that list a large number of atmospheric events, ranging from stubborn clouds (midwestern summer supercells), fog (including Karl), light rain (fade), heavy rain (outage), the <a href="https://youtu.be/DPtzi8cYN14?t=25">annual Saharan dust migration</a>, snow including blizzards, hail, sleet, ice, seasonal crop dust, sand storms, haboobs, birds, atmospheric rivers, or any one of the 11,000 annual volcanic eruptions … you get the idea. <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/ready-net-dev-public-assets/doge_starlink_fe1a29d59b/doge_starlink_fe1a29d59b.jpg">Doge Army may indeed overtake the world, but Starlink won't much wow inside haboobs&nbsp; &nbsp;For any LEO user under the smoke of wildfire, severe interruption of signal is all but assured, for potentially prolonged periods. As such fires happen more frequently now, with greater intensity, we believe it’s important for local ISPs to focus on resilient networks. Add to this that Dishy tends to overheat during the summer in hot climates and the message is clear: policymakers, broadband infrastructure investors, and residents of forested areas: local ISPs are needed now more than ever.<h2 style="margin-left:auto;">Some ISPs will thrive.</h2>Minor annoyances and tragic catastrophes aside, we also predict that Starlink will paradoxically increase demand for strong local ISPs. By way of Metcalfe’s law, through Starlink introducing potentially hundreds of millions more ultra-high bandwidth consumers to the internet, it could dramatically increase global demand for bandwidth, and thus for connectivity providers.Among the survivors, a few ISPs will thrive. Local fiber providers, REC ISPs, strong WISPs, and community networks will flourish by embracing a simple principle:<h3 style="margin-left:auto;">Take great care of your subscribers.</h3>Provided you have strong, resilient connectivity – fiber &amp; high-performance wireless – and you do everything you can to take great care of your subscribers, you can thrive in the Starlink Age.<blockquote>To survive and thrive as a local ISP in the Starlink Age, you must put your subscriber at the center of your business.&nbsp;</blockquote><h2 style="margin-left:auto;">That’s precisely why we made Ready BOSS.</h2>Our product helps growth-minded local ISPs deliver great subscriber experience. From finding and signing prospects in your territory, to seamless onboarding and billing, to cross-selling extras over the top of your network, and everything in between – your success ends and begins with subscriber experience.&nbsp;Best of all, Ready is built to plug into your existing systems, so you don’t have to change out the systems you love. You just get more from them, and so does your subscriber.<h2 style="margin-left:auto;">ISPs: Don’t get left behind.</h2>Get Ready to deliver great subscriber experience.If you’re a local ISP, we’d love to connect with you to help you get Ready for the Starlink Age. If you work with local ISPs we’d love to partner with you to help our mutual customers connect more people to strong broadband quickly. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ThankYourLocalISP&amp;src=typed_query">#ThankYourLocalISP</a>

Starlink brings to today’s telecom what Chicxulub Impactor brought to life forms around the time it decided to drop in on Earth. Some unfortunate ISPs are going to die very sudden deaths. Others will die over the coming months and years. Yet thousands of today’s ISPs will carry on, and some among them will thrive.

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Local ISPs: Get Ready for Starlink!

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Local ISPs: we wrote this guide for you in the hopes it helps in some way as you navigate the new reality. Please keep fighting the good fight to get and keep your subscribers connected to strong internet during this unprecedented crisis.As America deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now evident to the majority of the country that local ISPs like you provide an essential service. It’s critical that you are able to perform through this stressful period. Despite providing an essential service, some of your customers may not be able to pay during this crisis. The U.S. federal government’s new program may be able to help get you through the next couple of months.On March 27, 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/hr748/BILLS-116hr748enr.pdf">‘‘Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’’ or the ‘‘CARES Act”</a>. The legislation is a national effort to provide emergency financial relief to individuals and small businesses struggling from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As you’re busy making sure your networks are performing for your subscribers, Ready wants to provide you with highlights relevant to local ISPs from the $2.2 Trillion legislation.<h3>Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans and Grants</h3>The CARES Act authorized SBA loans and grants to cover COVID-19-impacted small businesses (including sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors). These loans and grants may be used for sole proprietor payroll costs, mortgage interest payments, rent, utilities, or other repayment obligations. Subject to certain conditions, loan amounts may be forgivable. The SBA has set up various programs to facilitate the loans and grants, which ISPs may be eligible for, such as the <a href="https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp">Paycheck Protection Program</a> and the <a href="https://www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/coronavirus-covid-19#section-header-3">Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program</a>.Paycheck Protection ProgramThe Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is authorized with up to $349 billion USD in SBA loans for small businesses harmed by COVID-19. The program will offer loans of up to $10 million at 1% interest to companies and nonprofits with fewer than 500 workers so they can cover two months of payroll and overhead expenses. If you retain your team and do not cut wages, the government will forgive most or all of your loan, and repay your lender. Check out <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/PPP%20Borrower%20Information%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf">SBA’s information sheet</a> for details.ISPs may apply, and use loan proceeds for payroll costs (including sole proprietor compensation), mortgage interest payments, rent, and utilities. Key dates to keep in mind:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>April 3, 2020: small businesses and sole proprietors can apply</li><li>April 10, 2020: independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply</li><li>Applications will be open until the funding cap is met or June 30, 2020, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We do expect the government to increase the funding cap if demand for PPP loans outstrips supply.</li></ul>You will need to complete this <a href="https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/Borrower%20Paycheck%20Protection%20Program%20Application_0.pdf">program sample form</a> once you choose one or more participating <a href="https://www.sba.gov/article/2020/mar/02/100-most-active-sba-7a-lenders">SBA-approved lenders.</a> You will also need to certify an economic need for the loan, along with supporting documentation. Ready recommends applying to more than one lender.Economic Injury Disaster LoanThe SBA <a href="https://www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/coronavirus-covid-19">Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program</a> provides emergency loan advances of up to $10,000 USD to small businesses harmed by COVID-19. To access the advance, you may apply <a href="https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/">here</a>. The advance would not need to be repaid. Additionally, SBA is offering COVID-disaster designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to certain small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19.<h3>Telehealth in The CARES Act</h3>The CARES Act allows Medicare to significantly expand access to telehealth.<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>Patients in all settings can receive telehealth services and physicians can provide telehealth from their homes.</li><li>The Act greatly expands covered services provided to patients. The full list can be reviewed <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2020-03/telehealth-services-covered-by-Medicare-and-included-in-CPT-code-set.pdf">here</a>.</li><li>The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will allow physicians to prescribe controlled substances based on telehealth visits during the pandemic.</li><li>During the pandemic, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) which enforces HIPAA has relaxed enforcement of compliance on the types of technology physicians use to administer care.</li></ul>We believe the expansion of services during the pandemic is a systemic shift in telehealth and expect the new rules will stick. Conversely, the relaxed enforcement of HIPAA compliance in an age of heightened cybersecurity will roll back as soon as the crisis subsides. Local ISPs enabling telehealth services must ensure their networks are ready for advanced telehealth.In addition to expanding the scope of telehealth, The CARES Act provides for increased funding to telehealth and remote care technologies, which include the following sources:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>$27 billion for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for COVID-19 activities, including telehealth access and infrastructure.</li><li>Over $1 billion provided to the Indian Health Services for COVID-19 measures including telehealth and other information technology upgrades.</li><li>$200 million for salaries and expenses to the Federal Communications Commission to support their efforts in responding to the COVID-19 emergency including providing telehealth services during the emergency period.</li></ul>We expect more clarity on how this money will be allocated in the days and weeks ahead, and will update Ready customers and subscribers. The need to improve connectivity to deliver telehealth on the scale the US government desires means ISP should benefit from an allocation of the federal dollars.We’re here to help you keep your subscribers connected. For additional info on how Ready helps local ISPs grow, please schedule a free consultation:Stay safe, and thank you again for connecting folks.

Local ISPs: we wrote this guide for you in the hopes it helps in some way as you navigate the new reality. Please keep fighting the good fight to get and keep your subscribers connected to strong internet during this unprecedented crisis.

Local ISPS: Keep fighting the good fight to get and keep your subscribers connected to strong internet during this unprecedented crisis.

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