The New Hampshire Office of Broadband Initiatives is offering prospective applicants an opportunity to pre-qualify for the BEAD Subgrantee Selection. Pre-qualification is intended to streamline the application process and ensures applicants meet the minimum requirements of the BEAD program prior to the project application phase.
- Pre-Qualification Phase opened November 22, 2024 and will remain open through the project application period.
- Project Application Period: Expected to be open January 6, 2025 - February 5, 2025
Prospective Applicants who have not filed a Broadband Data Collection with the FCC as of September 1, 2024 will be ineligible to apply for BEAD grants. Proof of filing is required.
Information listed here is subject to change as the NTIA continues to issue further guidance.
PRE-QUALIFICATION PHASE
Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to pre-qualify prior to the BEAD Project Application Phase. Prospective applicants must complete the qualification process during either the pre-qualification phase or the project application phase before they can submit project applications that may result in project funding.
Prospective applicants will begin the Pre-Qualification Phase by completing the Pre-Qualification Form, which will gather initial information from each prospective applicant, followed by a submission of required documentation to confirm prospective applicants meet the minimum qualifications set by the BEAD NOFO and New Hampshire’s Initial Proposal.
To support the exchange of required documentation, the Office of Broadband Initiatives will utilize Kiteworks which is a service to securely submit numerous large sized files. Prospective applicants will receive an email from our consultant, Guidehouse, with the subject line “File request: NH BEAD Pre-Qualification,” which will contain an emailed link to Kiteworks. An account with Kiteworks is required to utilize the provided services. Each prospective applicant will be able to create an account, when using the provided link. Additional information can be found in the Pre-Qualification Guide.
Attention: The email with the document transfer link will come from a @Guidehouse.com email address. For security reasons, the link is only active for 72 hours and each link is only valid for ONE submission of bulk document uploading. It is recommended that prospective applicants compile all the necessary documents required for the bulk upload prior to completing the form and receiving the upload link.
If the link expires before prospective applicants have uploaded files or need to upload additional files, please email
broadband@livefree.nh.gov to request a new link.
Pre-Qualification Guide - provides an overview of the procedures, requirements, and steps for submitting successful pre-qualification documentation.
Pre-Qualification Form - submission of prospective applicants’ general information.
Qualification Certification Signature Page –
Required – an easy uniform way for prospective applicant to sign-off on required certifications.
Submissions may require additional clarifying information or details and may require modifications or adjustments for reasons including but not limited to:
- The information included in the submission is incomplete or insufficiently detailed;
- More recent documentation is necessary;
- The prospective applicant has provided conflicting information in multiple sections of the submission.
If such remediations are necessary, a member of the Broadband Office will provide written communication, in the form of an email from
broadband@livefree.nh.gov, to the prospective applicant with a list of required updates, and a timeline by which the information must be provided. At this time, a new Kiteworks link will need to be generated.
PROJECT APPLICATION PHASE - INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE
The New Hampshire Office of Broadband Initiatives is seeking applications for projects that address BEAD Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) lacking reliable broadband service across the state.
Applicants must first complete the Pre-Qualification Process, detailed above, in order to be considered for BEAD funding. It is recommended that the applicant completes the Pre-Qualification Process prior to submitting their Project Application(s), as the Project Application will not be considered until the Pre-Qualification is complete. Only one Pre-Qualification needs to be completed by each applicant, regardless of how many Project Area Applications the applicant plans to submit.
Project Service Areas (PSAs) will be defined as the municipality or unincorporated place where BEAD eligible BSLs are located. Applicants must submit separate applications for each individual PSA they plan to bid on. Applications will not be considered if projects are dependent on adjacent PSAs.
Project Service Areas – Final List - BEAD Broadband Service Locations by PSA. This spreadsheet consists of three tabs detailing:
- Final Project Service Areas – New Hampshire has identified 232 Project Service Areas
- Final Location Fabric IDs – Through the BEAD Challenge Process, New Hampshire has identified 9,527 BSLs eligible for BEAD funding.
- Project Plans must include all BSLs listed within a Project Service Area.
- Final CAI List -
- Project Plans should include all CAIs listed within a Project Service Area.
- Two Project Service Areas include only CAIs and no BSLs.
Applicants seeking to serve a BEAD PSA must submit a comprehensive application demonstrating their capacity to deliver reliable, high-speed broadband to all unserved and underserved locations within the PSA. Applicants will begin the Project Application Phase by completing the Project Application Form, followed by a submission of required documentation.
To support the exchange of required documentation, the Office of Broadband Initiatives will use a secure file-sharing platform called Kiteworks. Applicants will receive an email from our consultant, Guidehouse, with the subject line “File request: NH BEAD Application,” which will contain an emailed link to Kiteworks. You must have or create a Kiteworks account in order to upload files. Each prospective applicant will be able to create an account when using the provided link. Additional information can be found in the Project Application Guide.
Attention: The email with the document transfer link will come from a @Guidehouse.com email address. For security reasons, the link is only active for 72 hours and each link is only valid for ONE submission of bulk document uploading. It is recommended that prospective applicants compile all the necessary documents required for the bulk upload prior to completing the form and receiving the upload link.
Project Application Guide – provides an overview of procedures, requirements and steps for submitting successful Project Area Applications.
Project Application Form – Required - submission of specific project information.
Project Application Certification Signature Page – Required - an easy uniform way for applicants to sign-off on required certifications.
Project Application BEAD Non-Served BSLs Template - If an applicant believes that a location within a Project Service Area should not be serviced using BEAD funding, that applicant may submit this template and supporting evidence via the Kiteworks document upload when submitting . Removal of locations is subject to BEA and NTIA approvals. Reference the Project Application Guide for addition information.
Following the completion of the BEAD Project Application Form and the submission of supporting documentation through Kiteworks, the BEA team will be in touch regarding any clarification or additional documentation needed. BEA will allow applicants up to fifteen calendar days after notification to cure an incomplete application.
Additional Resources
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Technical Assistance
Technical assistance will be provided to prospective applicants in the following ways:
BEAD Pre-Qualification Webinar: A webinar detailing the requirements for pre-qualification and document submission. This will be an opportunity for prospective applicants to hear more details about the process and ask questions.
BEAD Project Application Webinar: A webinar detailing the requirements and process for submitting Project Service Area Applications. This will be an opportunity for applicants to hear more details about the process and ask questions about both phases of Subgrantee Selection.
BEAD Subgrantee Selection Office Hours: The BEA team will hold two Office Hour Sessions during the subgrantee selection process which will not have a set agenda but act as an open forum for prospective applicants to ask questions about the process. Details about these Office Hour Sessions will be added soon.
- Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 12:00pm
- Webinar Link: BEAD Pre-Qualification Process Q&A
- Details: Office hour will be scheduled for 30 minutes. Extra time may be allocated to ensure all questions are answered. Questions received will be added to the FAQ.
- Date: TBD
- Webinar Link:
- Details: Office hour will be scheduled for 30 minutes to answer questions regarding Subgrantee Selection Phases. Extra time may be allocated to ensure all questions are answered.
BEAD Pre-Qualification Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): this document will contain answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) regarding pre-qualification and document submission process.
The Office of Broadband Initiatives team will accept questions throughout the process via email at
broadband@livefree.nh.gov.