- An NTIA executive revealed today that the agency is about to publish a Build America Buy America document with self-certified vendors
- The agency has created this list to help avoid fraud in the BEAD program
- But a CommScope executive expressed frustration with the process
BROADBAND NATION EXPO, WASHINGTON, DC – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is about to publish a list of broadband vendor companies that have self-certified that they make their equipment in the United States. That's good news for everyone in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) ecosystem. And a CommScope executive today indicated that it's about time.
Will Arbuckle, senior policy advisor with NTIA, said today that he spent 2023 working on the Build America Buy America (BABA) initiative for the BEAD program. During the process, he talked to a lot of companies, and they told him they were worried about the expense of onshoring their manufacturing back to the U.S. They’re concerned that many companies will fraudulently claim that they’re making BEAD products in the U.S., even when they’re not.
“Hopefully next week, we're going to publish the first iteration of a list where companies have been able to self-certify, at the risk of penalty, that they do, in fact, make certain equipment in the U.S. This would be a tool for ISPs, for manufacturers, for state broadband offices to see,” Arbuckle said. The list of BABA-compliant companies will be published on NTIA’s website.
He also said that when BEAD projects get underway, NTIA has a number of enforcement mechanisms to ensure that service providers who win grants are complying with BABA. Those enforcement tools include reporting requirements, auditing and spot visits. “So, I think we'll look at the entire basket of options that are available to try to ensure there's no bad actors here,” he said.
NTIA published its BABA waivers document in February 2024, specifying exactly which broadband equipment must be made in the U.S. At the time, NTIA said BABA waivers would remain in effect until February 2029, and NTIA would review the rules annually to see if any changes should be made. Its first annual revenue will occur in February 2025.
Today, Arbuckle clarified that as long as a BEAD grant is active, the BABA requirement exists.
CommScope has issues
After Arbuckle spoke today, John Chamberlain, vice president of Technology for CommScope’s CCS segment, shared some of his thoughts about BABA. And he didn’t sound completely happy about it.
“We’ve had to make a lot of changes in the industry to be BABA compliant,” Chamberlain said.
“It's actually a little bit of a chicken and egg issue. We've got ISPs asking us for BABA-qualified products, and the NTIA doesn't have a listing. So, it's not very comfortable right now,” he said.
He said CommScope gets requests for bids for BABA products “on a daily basis.” And as a manufacturer it’s critical to have relevant information in advance to plan for manufacturing capacity.
“I don't want to discount the billions of dollars that the NTIA, the government, are giving to the BEAD program,” said Chamberlain, “but we do need to start bidding on it right now.”
For its part, NTIA’s representatives keep saying that they’re working as fast as they can to fit all the puzzle pieces of BEAD together while respecting the fact that it’s taxpayer dollars, and they want to do it right.
Today, Arbuckle said, “NTIA’s goal is to balance the spirit of the BABA law with the primary goal of BEAD, which is to get everybody connected.”