Montana planning for next round of broadband funding

Last year, a state advisory commission made recommendations for how to distribute more than $300 million in federal broadband funding across Montana. Now, another commission has started planning for the next round of federal funds – with twice as much money available, but much different regulations on how it can be used.

In June, the federal government announced it had allocated nearly $629 million to improve access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet service Montana. The money comes from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, program – part of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021.