18 Feb DPAC’s Recommended Uses of BEAD Funds Made Available Through Benefit of the Bargain Reforms
The Honorable Arielle Roth
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
Administrator
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20230
Submitted by request via email to broadbandgrants@ntia.gov
Re: DPAC’s Recommended Uses of BEAD Funds Made Available Through Benefit of the Bargain Reforms
Dear Administrator Roth and NTIA Leadership:
The Damage Prevention Action Center (DPAC) appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback on recommended uses of approximately $21 billion in remaining Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funds[1] made available through savings resulting from the Department of Commerce’s Benefit of the Bargain reforms.[2]
DPAC is a coalition of energy, utility and construction industry leaders advocating for public policies and industry practices that protect America’s critical underground utility infrastructure and those who work and live near these important assets.[3]
I write to highlight the critical importance of dedicating a portion of BEAD funds made available through the Benefit of the Bargain reforms to underground damage prevention, underground utility mapping modernization and locating workforce development.
As NTIA evaluates appropriate uses of non-deployment funding, we urge the agency to recognize that broadband expansion is inseparable from the safe excavation environment required to build it. Every mile of fiber installed depends on accurate information about what already exists underground.
The Scale of the Problem
According to the Common Ground Alliance, dig-ins to buried pipelines and utilities cost U.S. communities approximately $30 billion annually.[4] Despite sustained industry education efforts, the annual rate of damages to buried infrastructure has remained largely stagnant over the past decade. Each of the hundreds of thousands of yearly incidents can:
- Disrupt businesses and local economies;
- Cut off power, communications, water or gas service to families and communities;
- Delay infrastructure construction projects, including BEAD deployments; and
- Result in injuries and fatalities to workers and the public.
As federal broadband investment accelerates construction activity nationwide, the risk profile grows unless Congress, federal agencies and industry modernize how underground infrastructure is documented, located and protected.
Why Damage Prevention Is a BEAD Success Issue
BEAD is fundamentally a construction program. Its success depends not only on funding networks, but on ensuring projects can be built safely, efficiently and without avoidable rework or service disruptions. Inaccurate or incomplete subsurface information leads to:
- Construction delays and cost overruns;
- Emergency repairs that divert skilled labor from new deployment;
- Increased insurance and project risk costs;
- Reduced productivity of already-scarce broadband construction crews.
Investments in prevention deliver measurable returns by reducing damages, improving project timelines and protecting both new and legacy infrastructure.
Recommended Uses of BEAD Non-Deployment Funds
DPAC recommends NTIA allow states and eligible entities to apply non-deployed BEAD funds toward the following high-impact activities:
- Strengthening State Damage Prevention Programs
- Support for enforcement, training and compliance improvements tied to effective one-call laws;
- Resources to encourage limiting exemptions, improving locate accuracy and ensuring facilities are locatable after installation;
- Alignment with federal pipeline safety and damage-prevention objectives already under consideration by Congress.
- Modernization of Underground Utility Mapping
- Conversion of legacy paper and non-standard records into GIS-based, interoperable digital systems;
- Development of standardized, accessible infrastructure datasets to support broadband project planning;
- Requirements that newly installed BEAD-funded facilities be digitally recorded and locatable.
- Advanced Locating Technology and Data Integration
- Deployment of next-generation locating tools and enhanced positive-response systems;
- Integration of broadband construction planning with statewide 811 and subsurface utility engineering platforms;
- Use of geospatial technologies to reduce uncertainty before excavation begins.
- Workforce Development for Locators and Damage Prevention Professionals
- Training programs for utility locators, inspectors and field verification specialists—roles currently in short supply;
- Certification pathways that ensure BEAD construction proceeds safely and consistently across jurisdictions.
A Cost-Effective Way to Protect Federal Investment
Damage prevention is not ancillary to successful broadband deployment—it is a force multiplier. Requiring standardized digital data and modern locating practices will significantly improve construction efficiency, reduce project risk and generate substantial cost savings while enhancing public safety.
Strategic investment of BEAD savings into subsurface intelligence and prevention will help ensure that the infrastructure being funded today is installed correctly, protected over time and not compromised by avoidable excavation damage tomorrow.
Conclusion
NTIA has a unique opportunity to use non-deployment BEAD funds to address one of the most persistent and solvable infrastructure challenges facing the United States. By supporting mapping modernization, locating capability, dig-law enforcement and workforce readiness, the agency can accelerate broadband deployment while safeguarding the nation’s vast network of existing underground utilities.
The Damage Prevention Action Center stands ready to work with NTIA to provide data, technical expertise and stakeholder coordination to advance these objectives.
Sincerely,
Sarah K. Magruder Lyle
Executive Director, Damage Prevention Action Center
[1] Section 60102 of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; P.L. 117-58), signed into law November 15, 2021, established the BEAD program and appropriated a $42.45 billion investment in BEAD. See CRS Report R48666, 8/29/25: https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48666.
[2] BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice, June 6, 2025: https://www.ntia.gov/other-publication/2025/bead-restructuring-policy-notice and press release: https://www.ntia.gov/press-release/2025/trump-administration-announces-benefit-bargain-bead-program-removes-regulatory-burdens-lowers-costs
[3] Damage Prevention Action Center members: https://damagepreventionactioncenter.com/members/
[4] CGA’s 2024 DIRT Report: https://dirt.commongroundalliance.com/Portals/9/Common-Ground-Alliance-DIRT-Report-2024.pdf