The BEAD Program (Broadband Expansion and Deployment Program) provides $42 billion in federal funding to expand high-speed internet across all US States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.  Entities eligible to receive grants from this program include: States Tribal governments Telecommunications companies Nonprofit entities Economic development authorities These entities are to use program funds for planning, infrastructure deployment, and adoption programs that further the goal of making internet available and affordable to all (digital equity).  The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) was required to establish this grant program as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was signed into law in November 2021.