The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) opened a seven-day public comment period on the state’s final BEAD proposal on Tuesday, which is slated for submission to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration next Thursday.
State officials say the plan would extend high-speed internet to every BEAD-eligible location in Alabama, with awards supporting service to 101,090 addresses.
Once projects are complete, Alabama would achieve full broadband coverage as defined by NTIA.
“One of my biggest priorities since taking office has been expanding high-speed internet infrastructure across our state to ensure that every single Alabamian has access to connectivity,” Governor Kay Ivey said.
“My administration has worked hand-in-glove with the Trump Administration to make our BEAD proposal as low-cost as possible. As a result, our final outcome represents a savings of over $800 million for the American taxpayers –a savings of more than 60 percent, as defined by NTIA percent from Alabama’s original BEAD allocation.”
The state indexes the deployment of the program through its Be Linked Alabama portal, which aggregates active project data on a county-by-county level.
It is a massive achievement that ADECA negotiated commitments averaging under $6,000 per location across more than 100,000 addresses.
This puts Alabama among the most cost-efficient states under the BEAD framework.
Many states’ BEAD proposals show fiber deployment costs in the $4,000-$10,000 per-location range, with remote, high-cost areas pushing averages even higher.
By keeping the average this low, Alabama not only shaves over $800 million off its original $1.4 billion allocation but also frees up federal dollars for other uses or for deeper investment in areas that are hardest to serve.
Meanwhile, directing nearly 80% of locations toward wired fiber, widely regarded as the gold standard for speed, latency, and durability, indicates the level of quality commitment, ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell says.
“Governor Ivey made clear to me at the very beginning that she wanted every single Alabamian to have access to high-speed internet.”
“I am proud to say that, as a result of close coordination with NTIA, internet service providers, local communities and others, the approval of this final proposal will allow us to get to the finish line. This plan, once approved, will pay dividends for the people who call Alabama home for decades to come,” Boswell said.
Proposed awardees include large national and international companies, as well as local Alabama companies and cooperatives.
According to ADECA, all proposed awardees have been vetted and evaluated to help ensure that they can deliver on their grant commitments.
Public comments and the full proposal are available via ADECA’s website.
The comment period will close after seven days ahead of the Thursday, September 18 submission to NTIA.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
