Drew Dixon
More than $970 million in funding is now available through Florida’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program designed to deliver high-speed and reliable internet service to all areas of the state.
FloridaCommerce has engaged in efforts to increase broadband availability to businesses, homes, farms and community institutions in unserved and underserved locales in Florida via the BEAD program.
Previous grants have already been provided to several small and rural communities in Florida. The latest grants are aimed toward internet service providers with Federal Communications Commission provider licenses in the state.
FloridaCommerce officials are urging joint partnerships between broadband providers and businesses and community organizations. Applications for the funding can be made on the FloridaCommerce website.
The state’s effort to expand broadband service to rural areas has been an ongoing project.
In June, Spectrum added more broadband customers in Marion County. The company expanded through a broader internet infrastructure building project costing about $7 billion in rural areas throughout its footprint across America. Some of that money came from the Federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). Some 35,000 customers in rural Marion County were added to the company’s service.
U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, a Gainesville Republican, celebrated the internet reach into Marion County and said the upgraded — and in some cases, new — service for Florida’s rural customers is a relief for many who never had access before.
“All Floridians deserve access to reliable, high-speed internet, regardless of where they live. In partnership with providers like Spectrum, we are working to ensure that rural communities across our state get access to the digital tools they need to thrive,” she said.
The deadline for applying to the BEAD program FloridaCommerce is promoting is Aug. 4. Bureau officials are so intent to distribute the funding that they produced a webinar explaining the application process.
One comment
Steven Kirn
July 16, 2025 at 3:05 pm
As Cat Cammack celebrates this investment, please remember that she voted AGAINST the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed under the Biden administration, with virtually no support — and much opposition — from Republicans, who thought it was a terrible idea! That brought $1.6 billion to Florida, of which this is a part. I am so tired of having “my” representatives showing up for ribbon cuttings and such, basking in undeserved credit for doing something to help “their” constituents. Rep. Cammack — celebrate the investment, but at least acknowledge that you played an opposing role in trying to defeat it! Shame!