BEAD FINAL PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS
Louisiana received a $1.355 billion allocation from the BEAD program, the eighth-largest in the nation and 10th-largest per capita. Louisiana was also the first in the country to receive NTIA approval of its Initial Proposal. This means that broadband construction projects will have a head start in bringing high-speed, reliable and affordable internet to every home, business and community anchor institution in the state.
Volume 1 of the state's Initial Proposal details Louisiana’s plans for a challenge process to determine all locations eligible for BEAD funding and Volume 2 covers the specific actions the state will take to eliminate the digital divide.
The Final Proposal is the "final submission" for Louisiana's BEAD grant funding and provides an update to the previously approved Initial Proposal Volume 1 and Volume 2. The Final Proposal describes Louisiana's progress in implementing the approved Initial Proposal, including the results of its deployment subgrantee selection process.
Following review of the draft Final Proposal below, interested parties who wish to submit a public comment should do so by emailing the form below to connect@la.gov no later than December 10, 2024.
SUBGRANT PROGRAM DOCUMENTS
The following documents are related to the GUMBO 2.0 program, which represents the infrastructure portion of the federal BEAD program subgrant process. These documents are meant to provide supplemental information and guidance to all parties with an interest in the state’s GUMBO 2.0 program and do not modify Louisiana's approved Initial Proposal. All GUMBO 2.0 prospective participants should thoroughly review the Initial Proposal to familiarize themselves with all program requirements prior to submitting applications.
APPROVED BEAD INITIAL PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS
BEAD INITIAL PROPOSAL
Louisiana received a $1.355 billion allocation from the BEAD program, the eighth-largest in the nation and 10th-largest per capita. Louisiana was also the first in the country to receive NTIA approval of its Initial Proposal. This means that broadband construction projects will have a head start in bringing high-speed, reliable and affordable internet to every home, business and community anchor institution in the state.
While Vol. 1 of the state's Initial Proposal details Louisiana’s plans for a challenge process to determine all locations eligible for BEAD funding, Vol. 2 covers the specific actions the state will take to eliminate the digital divide.
ConnectLA is proud that we have set the pace for the country in terms of speed and execution in policy setting. Nearly a third of the content in our Initial Proposal has been incorporated into other states’ plans. This is a win for Louisianians and positions Louisiana as a leader among other states in eliminating the digital divide.
FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN
Louisiana's comprehensive Five-Year Action Plan lays out the priorities of the state, adheres to guidance set out by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and outlines how BEAD funds will be allocated throughout the state.
The plan is informed by the number of unserved and underserved households, businesses and community anchor institutions in the state, in addition to research conducted for the Digital Opportunity Plan. We invite you to read our goals for increasing access, adoption, affordability, digital opportunity and inclusion, digital skills and economic development.
READ THE FIVE-YEAR ACTION PLAN
BEAD Challenge Results
As a requirement of Louisiana's BEAD Initial Proposal Vol. 1, ConnectLA completed the Louisiana Statewide Broadband Challenge Process to determine eligible BEAD locations.
ConnectLA is committed to ensuring every Louisianian is able to access high-quality broadband service. During the fall of 2023, the office partnered with regional planning commissions and the Governor's Office of Rural Development to host stakeholder engagement sessions. A full briefing was provided on broadband efforts and the challenge process. Parish/municipal officials, non-profit organizations and internet service providers/electric co-operatives were eligible to participate in the process. The formal challenge process began Oct. 6, 2023 and ended on January 6, 2024, with results directly impacting location eligibility.
BEAD Challenge FAQs
As required by statute, the initial eligibility determinations for funding eligibility under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program are based on the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Map.
The BEAD State Challenge Process was designed to provide stakeholders in Louisiana with an opportunity to dispute the data from the National Broadband Map and challenge the eligibility of locations, based on the process approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
This challenge process was designed to take earlier in the process to ensure that the application and award process is based on the most accurate and up-to-date data available.
Under the BEAD program, the NTIA defined “Permissible Challengers” as broadband service providers, units of local governments, units of tribal governments, and non-profit organizations. Only these entity types were eligible to submit challenges, although they were allowed to submit data collected from residents
ConnectLA conducted the BEAD Challenge Process using the August 29, 2023, update of the FCC Broadband Availability Map, which is based on Version 2 of the FCC Broadband Serviceable Locations Fabric. Following the challenge process, ConnectLA migrated the challenge results to Version 3 of the Fabric and updated the locations with the February 20, 2024, update of the FCC Broadband Availability Map.
Challenges and rebuttals were submitted by Internet Service Providers, Non-profits, and units of local governments. These challenges and rebuttals were adjudicated by ConnectLA.
ConnectLA thoroughly reviewed each challenge and rebuttal that was submitted and made a decision to reject or sustain each challenge using the best available evidence.
ConnectLA is required to use the locations provided in the FCC Fabric as the authoritative dataset for the pool of possible eligible locations. If your location is not listed, please reach out to ConnectLA to discuss how your location can get added to the map through the FCC challenge process.
Now that the challenge process is completed, the list of locations has been finalized pending NTIA approval. The BEAD funding is required to be distributed based on this final list of locations.
No, speed tests were not accepted in the BEAD challenge process to dispute the download or upload speeds of Internet service. However, data on the latency from performance tests were allowed in the BEAD challenge process.
Now that the challenge process is completed, the list of locations has been finalized. The BEAD funding is required to be distributed based on this final list of locations.
Please submit all questions to Connect@la.gov.
BEAD Challenge Resources
This document provides an overview of the challenge process and how to participate.
The Challenge Process User Guide, created by Ready, outlines how to participate in the BEAD challenge process.
This document provides an overview and timeline of the challenge process.
Federal Deduplication Data Dictionary
LA GUMBO Deduplication Data Dictionary
These are challenge files from NTIA. Challengers will need to join the Location IDs from unserved and underserved files with the relevant location IDs in the deduplication files. Doing so will allow challengers to build an internal map for analysis.
In this webinar discussion, Deputy Director Thomas Tyler outlines the challenge process and answers questions.
Challenge Process Office Hours #1
Recording of office hours webinar from October 25th
BEAD Sub-Project Areas (SPAs)
The Final Sub-Project Areas are based upon BEAD eligible locations.
Draft Sub-Project Areas were released on April 18, 2024 for solicitation of public comments through May 18, 2024. ConnectLA utilized comments received to assist in revisions before the release of final SPAs and reference funding to best achieve the goals of the BEAD program in LA, as provided in approved IP Volume 2. A summary of the comments received and the resolutions taken are included in the FAQ document linked above. As a result:
- The number of sub-project areas (SPAs) increased from 1,752 to 1,853.
- The number of BEAD eligible broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) decreased from 149,989 to 139,836.
- Due to a recently identified enforceable commitment from a federal agency with a broadband partner in Louisiana, an adjustment to eligible locations was made before the launch of round 1. The linked files and the table below have been updated to reflect these changes. This adjustment affects locations in Evangeline Parish only, specifically to the following SPAs:
- 22039-020 - Reduction in BSLs and Reference Funding
- 22039-024 - Reduction in BSLs and Reference Funding
- 22039-026 - Removal of SPA
Download Final SPA Files (pre-Round 1)
Download List of Remaining SPAs (Locations remaining post-Round 2)
Download List of Preliminarily Selected SPAs (Post-Round 2)
Download SPA Files (Post-Round 2)
BSL – Broadband Serviceable Location – a business or residential location in the United States at which fixed broadband Internet access service is, or can be, installed. (BEAD NOFO, Section I, C.)
SPA – Sub Project Area – A set of BEAD eligible broadband serviceable locations that include unserved, underserved and community anchor locations to function as an application unit for GUMBO 2.0 applications (Sections 2.4.1 and 2.4.6 of Initial Proposal Volume 2, FAQ V2, #12a)
Reference Funding – Reference funding values are determined based on a standardized deployment cost model applied using consistent input values statewide. (Section 2.4.6 of Initial Proposal Volume 2, FAQ V2, #12g)
| Parish Name | Total BSLs in Parish | Number of SPAs | Total BEAD Eligible Locations in SPA | Percent BEAD Eligible within Parish | Total Reference Funding |
| Acadia | 26,843 | 20 | 1,980 | 7.4% | $6,839,353 |
| Allen | 10,438 | 23 | 1,012 | 9.7% | $6,185,913 |
| Ascension | 50,158 | 17 | 280 | 0.6% | $2,516,204 |
| Assumption | 10,103 | 20 | 363 | 3.6% | $3,952,139 |
| Avoyelles | 19,032 | 30 | 4,739 | 24.9% | $12,822,965 |
| Beauregard | 16,553 | 47 | 3,625 | 21.9% | $16,748,736 |
| Bienville | 7,682 | 26 | 1,320 | 17.2% | $8,219,165 |
| Bossier | 49,410 | 45 | 6,526 | 13.2% | $23,985,785 |
| Caddo | 101,480 | 41 | 3,986 | 3.9% | $20,039,965 |
| Calcasieu | 86,313 | 48 | 8,181 | 9.5% | $25,630,403 |
| Caldwell | 4,866 | 23 | 471 | 9.7% | $6,292,255 |
| Cameron | 4,226 | 24 | 286 | 6.8% | $4,746,387 |
| Catahoula | 5,437 | 37 | 1,101 | 20.3% | $10,904,367 |
| Claiborne | 7,774 | 31 | 1,145 | 14.7% | $8,543,757 |
| Concordia | 9,740 | 28 | 1,100 | 11.3% | $8,886,132 |
| DeSoto | 13,879 | 27 | 2,443 | 17.6% | $16,548,082 |
| East Baton Rouge | 161,682 | 14 | 3,119 | 1.9% | $10,179,769 |
| East Carroll | 3,292 | 26 | 256 | 7.8% | $6,452,180 |
| East Feliciana | 8,624 | 19 | 3,569 | 41.4% | $10,154,076 |
| Evangeline | 15,227 | 31 | 3,067 | 20.1% | $12,407,147 |
| Franklin | 9,378 | 19 | 556 | 5.9% | $2,538,879 |
| Grant | 9,498 | 34 | 2,492 | 26.2% | $8,095,599 |
| Iberia | 29,717 | 22 | 3,513 | 11.8% | $8,099,591 |
| Iberville | 13,344 | 29 | 583 | 4.4% | $9,152,025 |
| Jackson | 7,688 | 25 | 2,241 | 29.1% | $8,758,192 |
| Jefferson | 147,114 | 16 | 1,912 | 1.3% | $4,254,509 |
| Jefferson Davis | 15,154 | 27 | 2,140 | 14.1% | $10,062,255 |
| Lafayette | 95,009 | 14 | 2,696 | 2.8% | $4,630,812 |
| Lafourche | 39,865 | 38 | 958 | 2.4% | $6,828,963 |
| LaSalle | 6,604 | 27 | 353 | 5.3% | $7,543,117 |
| Lincoln | 18,386 | 24 | 3,002 | 16.3% | $7,710,829 |
| Livingston | 56,935 | 15 | 1,663 | 2.9% | $7,177,613 |
| Madison | 4,336 | 28 | 355 | 8.2% | $9,137,946 |
| Morehouse | 12,726 | 23 | 513 | 4.0% | $4,169,492 |
| Natchitoches | 17,745 | 45 | 1,904 | 10.7% | $14,565,578 |
| Orleans | 123,351 | 11 | 755 | 0.6% | $3,230,853 |
| Ouachita | 61,242 | 30 | 4,668 | 7.6% | $12,644,064 |
| Plaquemines | 9,623 | 55 | 3,771 | 39.2% | $19,568,007 |
| Pointe Coupee | 11,133 | 30 | 1,235 | 11.1% | $12,431,438 |
| Rapides | 57,817 | 72 | 8,783 | 15.2% | $23,835,369 |
| Red River | 4,232 | 20 | 1,399 | 33.1% | $5,530,604 |
| Richland | 9,210 | 28 | 1,601 | 17.4% | $9,626,594 |
| Sabine | 14,818 | 50 | 2,750 | 18.6% | $12,094,282 |
| St. Bernard | 16,825 | 11 | 87 | 0.5% | $1,241,017 |
| St. Charles | 20,630 | 16 | 213 | 1.0% | $4,504,420 |
| St. Helena | 5,761 | 12 | 1,454 | 25.2% | $4,685,335 |
| St. James | 8,809 | 18 | 248 | 2.8% | $3,876,362 |
| St. John the Baptist | 17,207 | 13 | 141 | 0.8% | $3,189,736 |
| St. Landry | 39,109 | 25 | 1,436 | 3.7% | $8,981,070 |
| St. Martin | 25,116 | 51 | 2,875 | 11.4% | $16,436,713 |
| St. Mary | 23,612 | 31 | 2,101 | 8.9% | $12,112,700 |
| St. Tammany | 106,884 | 34 | 3,150 | 2.9% | $13,910,047 |
| Tangipahoa | 54,797 | 29 | 2,423 | 4.4% | $11,496,645 |
| Tensas | 3,537 | 32 | 667 | 18.9% | $9,155,532 |
| Terrebonne | 42,246 | 52 | 526 | 1.2% | $7,750,119 |
| Union | 11,527 | 36 | 2,132 | 18.5% | $7,474,695 |
| Vermilion | 26,946 | 47 | 7,202 | 26.7% | $39,564,522 |
| Vernon | 17,858 | 47 | 3,282 | 18.4% | $13,208,862 |
| Washington | 20,644 | 32 | 7,205 | 34.9% | $13,167,493 |
| Webster | 19,819 | 30 | 2,715 | 13.7% | $13,091,619 |
| West Baton Rouge | 11,613 | 11 | 538 | 4.6% | $4,657,742 |
| West Carroll | 5,342 | 15 | 487 | 9.1% | $4,292,725 |
| West Feliciana | 4,895 | 24 | 1,212 | 24.8% | $4,876,673 |
| Winn | 7,591 | 28 | 1,330 | 17.5% | $8,479,833 |
| Totals | 1,878,452 | 1,853 | 139,836 | $639,895,248 |
Alternative Technology Guidance
Starting in October 2024, ConnectLA began implementing the alternative technology process described in the NTIA Policy Notice: Proposed BEAD Alternative Broadband Technology Guidance. You can view the policy notice here. Please keep in mind that this document is still in draft form and may change.
We encouraged any alternative technology providers to review the notice and begin their preparations. Per the Policy Notice, “The term ‘Alternative Technologies’ describes any broadband access technology that terminates at the end user’s location or premises and does not qualify as Reliable Broadband Service, including ULFW and LEO, but meets the BEAD Program’s minimum technical requirements of speeds of not less than 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads and latency less than or equal to 100 milliseconds.”
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at connect@la.gov.
Waste, Fraud, and Abuse
If individuals need to report waste, fraud, or abuse, they can email ConnectLA directly at connect@la.gov. There are also three statewide oversight agencies in Louisiana where concerns can be reported.
- Louisiana Legislative Auditor Fraud Hotline
- Louisiana Office of Inspector General Complaint Form
- Louisiana Office of Attorney General Complaint Form