Louisiana Begins BEAD Grant Contracting With ISPs

Louisiana has signed Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment grant agreements with seven internet service providers, covering nearly 40,000 eligible locations statewide. The agreements mark the start of project execution under the federal BEAD program.

The approved grants cover approximately 40,000 of the state’s estimated 127,000 BEAD-eligible locations. Internet service providers that signed agreements include AT&T, Brightspeed, Comcast, Nextlink, Direct Communications, Pelican Broadband, and SkyRider Communications.

The state broadband office executed the agreements following federal approval of Louisiana’s final BEAD proposal. The program allocates $1.36 billion in federal funding to expand high-speed internet access across unserved and underserved areas.

The signed projects are expected to begin construction in the coming weeks.