On June 6th, 2025 the NTIA released the BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice. It rewrote many of the rules of the BEAD program.
One of the most consequential changes is the requirement that Eligible Entities (state broadband offices) republish their maps of eligible locations (unserved or underserved, and unfunded) to acknowledge locations that are covered by qualifying unlicensed fixed wireless (ULFW) and to reflect recent changes to the national map.
The RE-Mapping BEAD Toolkit calculates the locations that were unserved or underserved, and unfunded, under the original rules, net of any locations that are currently served by qualifying (100 Mbps / 20 Mbps / low latency) unlicensed fixed wireless.
The methodology is:
- Begin with the latest version of the FCC fabric (v6) and the associated BDC coverage data, reflecting networks as of 12-31-2024.
- Identify all unserved or underfunded locations, then remove those locations that are subject to an enforceable commitment for the deployment of qualifying broadband.
- Identify those locations in the BDC data that are served by qualifying unlicensed fixed wireless (100 Mbps / 20 Mpbs / low latency).
- Remove the locations served by qualifying ULFW from the pool of unserved or underserved, and unfunded, locations.
- The result - with some caveats - is the pool of locations likely to be eligible for BEAD funding under the rules of the newly released Notice.
The Toolkit visualizes everything at a level 8 hexagon level in a national GIS mapping tool.
The Toolkit also visualizes competing qualifying ULFW brands and offerings (performance, residential / business), making it easy to see which unlicensed wireless providers are active in each market.
The Toolkit also includes data in Excel spreadsheets:
- The likely reduction in eligible locations by state, as a result of qualifying unlicensed fixed wireless.
- The likely reduction in eligible locations by county, as a result of qualifying unlicensed fixed wireless.
Finally, the Toolkit includes a searchable location-level database of providers offering access to qualifying unlicensed broadband for those who wish to link in location point data.
Take a few minutes to read the Getting Started Guide and the team License Agreement. You'll appreciate the breadth of what the Toolkit can do.
The Toolkit covers the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This product is delivered via a digital download.
