Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program

BEAD is administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) of the US Department of Commerce. The Oklahoma Broadband Office (OBO) will manage the competitive grant process, subgrantee selection process and awardee monitoring and compliance. 

The Benefit of the Bargain Round will run from July 14 at 9:00am - July 23 11:59pm. For more details read the Primer. 

NTIA BEAD Policy Notice Published by NTIA on June 6, 2025. 

NTIA BEAD Final Proposal Guidance Published by NTIA in June, 2025. 

NTIA BEAD NOFO

OBO BEAD Benefit of the Bargain Primer Published on July 11, 2025.

Final BEAD Eligible BSLs Published on July 11, 2025.

Final BEAD Eligible CAIs Published on July 11, 2025.

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

Oklahoma BEAD Tribal Consent

Oklahoma BEAD Tribal Request for Support Letter

Below are templates approved by the specific Tribes:

Choctaw Nation

Cherokee Nation

Pre-Qualification is now avaiilable for organizations interested in participating in the BEAD Subgrantee Selection Process. It is a requirement before organizations can apply for BEAD funding. Questions will be related to an organization's operational history, finances and personnel, among other topics. An organization will complete the pre-qualification within the BEAD portal. If an organization participated in the BEAD Challenge Process, request access to the portal by emailing okhelpdesk@ready.net. Use the subject line, "OPT-IN" and include associated company name, your name, and your email. 

For organizations new to the BEAD program, register for portal access here. 

Access the Pre-Qualification Guide here. 

Access the Pre-Qualficiation within the BEAD Portal here. 

For technical difficulties email okhelpdesk@ready.net.  

Per the NTIA Policy Notice, published on June 6, 2025, the Oklahoma Broadband Office must allow Unlicensed Fixed Wireless (ULFW) providers that currently offer service to BEAD-eligible locations seven calendar days to notify the OBO of their intent to provide evidence that BEAD funding is not required for locations they serve.   

According to the FCC's National Broadband Map, the following ULFW providers currently serve BEAD-eligible locations in Oklahoma:  

• 360 Broadband 
• Airosurf Communications 
• Arbuckle Communications LLC 
• Atlink Services 
• BLS Broadband LLC 
• Carnegie Telephone Company DBA Lightspeed Services, LLC 
• Chisholm Broadband 
• HTS Wireless 
• Nextlink 
• Osage Broadband 
• Plains Internet LLC 
• ProValue.Net 
• Resonance Broadband LLC 
• Resound Networks 
• Rise Broadband 
• Santa Rosa Telephone Coop, Inc. 
• TekWav 
• Wake Wireless 

In addition, any Internet service providers (ISPs) that currently offer service to BEAD eligible locations must notify the OBO of their intent to submit unequivocal evidence claiming BEAD-eligible locations no longer require funding, as detailed in NTIA’s Final Proposal Guidance. ISPs will have seven calendar days to provide notification.  

The first Request for Information window closed on Friday, February 21 at 11:59pm. The OBO received robust feedback from the business community about potential ways to serve all Oklahomans most efficiently with 483 RFIs submitted.

On March 31, the office opened a second RFI window for updated NETs only. NTIA updated BEAD eligible locations to account for awarded Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program funding. Original RFIs will still stand unless they are impacted by NTIA's updates. Submitting RFIs will follow the same process as the orginial submission period.    

The second RFI window closed on Wednesday, April 9.

KEY:

• final_ok_locations.csv: File containing a list of locations that are eligible as Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs), with their associated NET IDs (Some of these locations are also considered Community Anchor Institutions).
• final_ok_cais.csv: File containing list of locations that are ONLY eligible as Community Anchor Institutions (CAIs), with their associated NET ID.

NOTE: final_ok_locations.csv will include all locations that are unserved or underserved by BSL standards.

• These may include some CAIs. A new column is_cai has been added and marked TRUE for those hybrid locations.
• Another column is_underserved has been added to distinguish between the unserved and underserved.
  

NETs will be the basis for the BEAD Subgrantee Selection process. The RFI process is the one opportunity for companies to request changes to proposed NETs.

For technical difficulties email okhelpdesk@ready.net.

BEAD Subgrantee Selection FAQ Updated 4:15 p.m. CT, May 21, 2025  

CostQuest Licenses

To access appropriate location data, the Oklahoma Broadband Office is requiring organizations that want to participate in BEAD to acquire a CostQuest license. This will allow an organization to view location data for mapping and planning purposes. To learn more click here.

Tier D License - Entities that participate in Federal Broadband Programs and will file challenges during state led challenges processes or relevant reporting will need a Tier D license. Examples: Recipients, sub-recipients, and prospective recipients of federal broadband funds from Federal Broadband Granting Agencies. Please use this link to request a license.   

Tier E License - Entities that seek to participate in the BEAD program challenge processes will need a Tier E license. Examples: Units of local government, non-profits, and FCC Tier 4 organizations. Please use this link to request a license.

In addition, Eligible Entities will need to have an active FCC Registration Number (FRN), Employer Identification Number (EIN) and/or a Unique Entity Identifier through Sam.gov.

Note: Unique Entity Identifiers will be needed at the time of award.