Arizona’s Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) Program represents the state’s largest broadband investment in history with the principal objective of universal broadband for all. BEAD prioritizes unserved and underserved households to improve connectivity, support economic growth, enhance education and improve health care access throughout Arizona. The goals under the BEAD Program are:
In accordance with the BEAD Restructuring Policy released by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Friday, June 6, 2025, the State Broadband Office will launch a new single-round BEAD application process called the "Benefit of the Bargain Round." All eligible entities, including previous preliminary awardees, are invited to apply. To comply with new NTIA guidelines, the State Broadband Office must rescind all preliminary BEAD awards from the Round 1 Application window.
Pre-registration remains open until June 30, 2025. Pre-registration is a required step to apply for BEAD funding in Arizona. If you already completed Pre-registration for Rounds 1 or 2, and you were approved, no further action is needed. If you have not pre-registered, you are encouraged to do so now as the timeframe to determine the awards will be abbreviated under the updated policy.
Unlicensed Fixed Wireless providers (ULFW) in Arizona are hereby informed they have seven calendar days from the date of this notice (June 13, 2025) to indicate they intend to submit supporting evidence that BEAD funding is not required for the locations they serve. This is in accordance with significant federal amendments to the BEAD program outlined in the BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice published June 6, 2025 (see Section 4: Optimizing BEAD Locations and Appendix A).
To facilitate this process, a list of service locations that qualify for the BEAD program funding and are shown as served in the latest BDC version is available here.
ISPs intending to submit their supporting evidence demonstrating BEAD funding is unnecessary for the locations they serve are required to send an e-mail notification by 5:00pm MST on Friday, June 20, 2025, to [email protected]
The ACA will provide further guidance to ULFW providers who sent email notification of their intent to submit by the specified deadline above (5:00pm MST on Friday, June 20, 2025).
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Only ULFW providers that responded to the State Broadband Office's original notice by the June 20, 2025, 5:00pm MST deadline are eligible to participate. Providers have seven calendar days from June 20, 2025 to provide the required documentation supporting the claim that existing ULFW services meet the technical and service standards necessary for a BEAD subgrant.
For additional information, please refer to Appendix A of the Restructuring BEAD Policy Notice for specifics on these standards. Successfully demonstrating compliance will render the served locations ineligible for BEAD program funding.
All supporting documentation from eligible ULFW providers must be submitted to Arizona Broadband Navigator portal by 5:00 pm MST on Friday, June 27, 2025.
The information below this section is for archival purposes only. Resource documents will be updated in accordance with the NTIA's Restructuring Policy. Check back for updated resources soon.
The BEAD Round 2 Project Areas map shows locations open for bid in Round 2 of the BEAD Subgrantee Application process. The map provides a high-level view of the project areas preliminarily selected in Round 1 and shows the areas and locations available for Round 2.
The map is designed to keep stakeholders informed and aware of the progress made and the areas that need service.
**These templates replace the original Round 1 templates. New templates were created in response to feedback from BEAD Applicants. Templates were uploaded and provided 02/25/2025 to applicants via email, on the website and in the BEAD Grantor Portal.
The State Broadband Office conducted the BEAD Project Area Market Sounding exercise from September 23, 2024 to November 7, 2024. During this period, feedback was collected on draft project areas from all Stakeholders. The State Broadband Office thoroughly reviewed all feedback and adjusted some of the draft project areas to ensure that all BEAD-eligible locations are served.
Additional files are also available for download that include project area PDFs and Final Project Area Polygon files:
Arizona was awarded $993.1 million in federal funding to build infrastructure and expand internet access in rural and historically underserved communities. BEAD funds will be prioritized in the following order:
The BEAD Marketing Sounding Exercise, which will run for 45 calendar days from 9/23/2024 to 11/7/2024, was designed is to solicit feedback on the Initial Project Area draft for the BEAD Program, ensuring it aligns with the connectivity needs of all Arizona communities. Through gathering input, the State Broadband Office seeks to make any necessary adjustments to better serve the goal of improving internet access across the state.
The BEAD Market Sounding Exercise is not a requirement of NTIA, but a commitment by the State Broadband Office to continually ensure transparency and feedback loops throughout the BEAD Program.
BEAD Eligible Subgrantees may participate, which includes local governments, nonprofit organizations, tribal nations and communities, and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). These participants are invited to comment on the Initial Project Area Draft as registered users in the
Arizona Broadband Navigator.
Please note that the ‘pending’ links above are not final. In curing, each data update uses newer FCC maps for true-up and deduplication, which slightly impacts the results. The final list of BEAD-eligible locations will be posted after NTIA approval is received.
In accordance with the BEAD Restructuring Policy released by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Friday, June 6, 2025, the State Broadband Office will launch a new single-round BEAD application process called the "Benefit of the Bargain Round." All eligible entities, including previous preliminary awardees, are invited to apply. To comply with new NTIA guidelines, the State Broadband Office must rescind all preliminary BEAD awards from the Round 1 Application window. Pre-registration is required to participate in the subgrantee application process. Learn more.
In accordance with the BEAD program requirements and NTIA's Restructuring Policy, the Arizona State Broadband Office intends to complete its deployment by 2029.
NOTE: This timeline is tentative, pending NTIA approval. This timeline may differ from previous and existing publicly posted information from ACA.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs’ vision is to provide dependable and affordable high-speed internet services to every community and access to the necessary digital skills, so every resident can full participate in a digital world. The Arizona State Broadband Office has developed the BEAD Five-Year Action Plan to serve as a guide to identify and deploy the state's historic broadband investment.
The state is committed to providing universal broadband for all. The BEAD Five-Year Action Plan outlines the following goals under the BEAD Program.
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS:
UNIVERSAL CONNECTIVITY:
21ST-CENTURY WORKFORCE:
AFFORDABLE INTERNET:
DIGITAL EQUITY AND INCLUSION:
The Arizona State Broadband Office released for public comment Volume I and II of the BEAD Initial Proposal. Volume I outlines existing broadband funding within Arizona and the list of the locations designated as unserved and underserved in the FCC National Broadband Map, Arizona's Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) as defined by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the proposed plan for the BEAD challenge process.
Volume II outlines the long-term objectives for deploying broadband, closing the digital divide, addressing access, affordability, equity, and adoption issues, and enhancing economic growth and job creation including information developed in the Five-Year Action Plan.
Arizona was awarded $993.1 million in federal funding to build infrastructure and expand internet access in rural and historically underserved communities. BEAD funds will be prioritized in the following order:
The BEAD Program requires that the State Broadband Office allow stakeholders to challenge the accuracy of BEAD-eligible locations. Confirmation of locations that currently lack access to high-speed internet is essential for funding to be used to connect these areas. The Challenge Process provides an opportunity to correct inaccuracies in Arizona’s broadband map, ensuring it reflects the most up-to-date broadband access across the state.
On December 12, 2024, the National Telecommunication and Information Administration (NTIA) approved the State Broadband Office's Challenge Process data resulting in the final list of locations and Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) eligible for BEAD funding.
Per the NTIA guidelines, only the following entities can submit challenges:
CHALLENGE PROCESS FILES:
Datasets that are used to support the BEAD Challenge Process
CHALLENGE PROCESS INFORMATION MATERIALS:
Documents that provide an overview of the challenge process and how to participate
BROADBAND NAVIGATOR USER GUIDE:
A technical document for navigating and interactive with the challenge portal
REQUEST A COSTQUEST LICENSE
Participating entities are encouraged to request a no-cost NTIA Tier D or Tier E license from CostQuest Associates to participate in the BEAD Challenge Process. However, obtaining a CostQuest license is not required to participate. This license will permit licensees to view the BSL data on a more granular level and is an important tool for analyzing areas that may need to be challenged. Please note that the process to request a license may two up to two weeks to complete.
Review the NTIA Fabric Licensing FAQ to learn about the licensing process and determine the appropriate tier license for your organization.
Tier D
Entities that participate in any federal broadband programs, including entities with reporting requirement or entities that plan to participate in the BEAD sub-granting process, should request a Tier D License. Internet service providers, for example, should request a Tier D license. Licensees will be similar to those with an FCC Fabric Tier 2 license.
Use this guide for requesting an NTIA Tier D to assist in completing the application process.
Tier E
Entities that participate in the challenge process, but do not participate in federal broadband programs, should request Tier E license. Nonprofit organizations, for example, should request Tier E license. Licensees will be similar to those with an FCC Fabric Tier 4 license.
Use this guide for requesting an NTIA Tier E to assist with completing the application process.
Designed as virtual roundtable discussions for Tribal Communities, Local Government and Internet Services Providers, these regular webinars help the Arizona Commerce Authority engage with communities, answer questions about BEAD and highlight any new policies.
To keep stakeholders updated, this session will outline progress made in aligning Arizona's BEAD program to NTIA's Restructuring Policy. We will cover timeline, Benefit of the Bargain Round and more. Time for Q&A included.
