Program Overviews and Timelines Alaska House Bill 363 In August 2022, Governor Dunleavy signed House Bill 363 (Alaska Statute 44.33.910) establishing the Alaska Broadband Office (ABO) within the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development and also establishing the Statewide Broadband Advisory Board. Introduced by Representative Bryce Edgmon, House Bill 363 carried out recommendations made by the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband. The creation of the Alaska Broadband Office has enabled Alaska to capture historic levels of federal broadband investment to bring service to unserved areas, underserved areas, and community anchor institutions. The Statewide Broadband Advisory Board plays an advisory role to the Alaska Broadband Office and facilitates stakeholder engagement. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) With the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021, Congress took a significant step forward in providing broadband access to the entire country. The IIJA set forth a $65 billion investment into broadband to ensure that all Americans have access to reliable, high speed, and affordable internet. Through this new broadband investment, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) established the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP), and the Digital Equity (DE) Act Programs. Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program The largest of these NTIA programs is the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The BEAD Program provides $42.45 billion in total to states, territories, D.C., and Puerto Rico for projects that support broadband infrastructure deployment and adoption. States received initial funds for broadband planning efforts including mapping, building up staff capacity, and conducting outreach to local communities. Following this initial planning phase, the remaining funding was allocated to states to support broadband infrastructure deployment based on a formula that considered the number of unserved and high-cost locations in the state. Alaska has been allocated $1,017,139,672.42 from the BEAD Program. The Alaska Broadband Office created a competitive process to issue broadband funding awards to subgrantees for the purpose of deploying broadband statewide. Awards will be made for projects that meet the priorities established by IIJA, with the first priority being funding to provide broadband to unserved areas (those below 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload speed (25/3 Mbps), followed by underserved areas (those below 100/20 Mbps), and then unserved Community Anchor Institutions, or CAIs (those below 1/1 Gbps).. As part of the requirements of the BEAD Program, the Alaska Broadband Office was required to develop a Five-Year Action Plan as well as a comprehensive two-volume proposal that detailed the steps planned to distribute BEAD funds in pursuit of universal service. These elements are described in further detail below. Five-Year Action Plan Alaska’s Five-Year Action Plan outlines broadband goals, objectives, and priorities for ensuring unserved and underserved locations gain access to reliable broadband. It serves as a needs assessment and informed how the ABO would develop an Alaska-specific grant program to distribute BEAD funding. The Plan was accepted by the NTIA in August 2023. Five-Year Action Plan Initial Proposal The overall grant program is broken into two main segments: the Initial Proposal and the Final Proposal. The Initial Proposal is further broken down into two volumes. Those volumes are the Alaska Broadband Mapping Challenge and the Alaska Broadband Grant Program. Volume I: Alaska Broadband Mapping Challenge The Alaska Broadband Mapping Challenge was a process to ensure the internet service at homes, businesses, and Community Anchor Institutions is correctly identified. The Alaska Broadband Office ran a four-stage Mapping Challenge to improve the map that would be used to identify locations eligible for funding under the BEAD Program. The four stages of the Alaska Broadband Mapping Challenge were: Stage 1 – Public Review: April 6, 2024 to May 5, 2024 Initial public review of homes and businesses (Broadband Serviceable Locations or BSLs) and Community Anchor Institutions for internet speed and/or availability. Stage 2 – Challenge Period: May 6, 2024 to June 4, 2024 The open period for Alaskans to submit challenges to service levels to the Alaska Broadband Office. Stage 3 – ISP Rebuttal Period: June 5, 2024 to July 5, 2024 The period during which challenges are reviewed and either accepted or rebutted by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Stage 4 – ABO Mediation Period: July 6, 2025 to August 4, 2024 During this mediation period, the Alaska Broadband Office will decide in favor of either the challenge or the rebuttal based on evidence. The classifications of unserved and underserved Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) and Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs) can be found at the links below. These are re-posted as of October 27, 2025. Post-Challenge Final BSL Classifications Post-Challenge Final CAI Classifications Post-June 6, 2025 Restructuring Policy Notice BSL Classifications Volume II: Alaska Broadband Grant Program The State of Alaska’s Initial Proposal Volume II submission to the NTIA is linked below. This was accepted by the NTIA in October 2024. State of Alaska Initial Proposal Volume II - Documentation Following approval of its Initial Proposal Volume II, the ABO launched the Alaska Broadband Grant Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in December 2024 for applicants to apply for BEAD funding to build broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved locations and Community Anchor Institutions. In March 2025, the Grant Program was paused and revised to comply with the NTIA’s BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice of June 6, 2025. The revised Grant Program NOFO was released and the Grant Program reopened to applications on July 3, 2025. The Grant Program closed to applications on August 3, 2025. Preliminary/Provisional Awards can be found on the Alaska Broadband Grant Program page The ABO submitted its BEAD Final Proposal to the NTIA on October 16, 2025.