In the next 12 months, State Broadband Offices will select BEAD winners to receive a total of $42B to build broadband networks in underserved communities across America. As part of these evaluations, many, if not all, states will award points to applications that demonstrate community support.

For communities not submitting their own BEAD application, these engagement requirements are an opportunity for community leaders to secure benefits for residents in exchange for endorsing an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

• The Virginia scoring system awards 10pts of total 100pts for securing a letter of support. That’s significant power for communities to influence their BEAD winner.
• Kentucky, which holds 8pts for local input, will consider letters of support from a range of stakeholders including county judges, mayors, city council members and others, in addition to resolutions of support from local governments, matching funds commitments, and evidence of public meetings.
• Whereas in New York, where a max of 10pts are available, the broadband office will, in most cases, only award the total points on the basis of a letter of support from the local government.

What can communities do?

Firstly, in the words of Doug Dawson “don’t hand letters out like Halloween candy”. In most states, a letter of support in hand will secure an applicant the full points. And so local governments should be extremely judicious when deciding who to endorse, preserving the value of a letter for an ISP that commits to addressing the community’s needs. With most states awarding up-to 10% for local engagement, a community has real leverage. This places a responsibility on local governments to:

• Work to understand the needs of residents and the relationship they want with their provider. That should ground negotiations with interested ISPs.
• Start talking with ISPs as early as possible (like, now) and find out which are willing to be true partners and which are likely to sideline residents once they land a BEAD award.
• Make specific asks of ISPs in exchange for your support for their application. You have leverage in this process — use it.

What can communities ask for?

This will depend on the priorities voiced by community groups, anchor institutions, and residents. Designed for Appalachia Digital Accelerator participants, ILSR has put together a menu of conditions communities can consider raising in negotiations, including:

• Universal coverage: You can insist that the ISP covers everyone in the town/county/etc or in specific rural or low-income pockets.
• Local hiring preference: Local governments may want to ensure ISPs are hiring locally where possible for jobs like construction and trenching.
• Limits on price increases: By its nature, there will be little-to-no competition in areas built with BEAD dollars. Therefore, you may want to negotiate rules around price increases to address the risk of unreasonable hikes, and more.

Yes, but. While letters of support are important for ISPs applying to BEAD, they are far from the only consideration. So local governments need to strike a balance between recognizing their leverage and using it strategically, without overplaying their hand and making demands that ISPs can’t and won’t agree to. This is about building strong partnerships with quality, responsible ISPs and making sure residents’ interests remain front and center.

Who can write letters of support?

In most cases, a municipal government or county council will lead negotiations with ISPs, but in some states broadband offices will consider letters from a range of community-based organizations, including schools, business groups, civil society organizations, and community foundations.

The bottom line

• Do: Engage with ISPs and give letters of support to those willing to consider conditions that bring benefits to community residents.
• Don’t: Check-out of the BEAD process believing that communities have no power to shape grant awards. You have leverage — use it wisely.

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For more ideas about how to approach letters of support, read the guide.