Hidden Truth: Software can handle the parts of BEAD that you loathe

If you’re a cooperative sitting on a BEAD goldmine who’s aware that becoming an ISP isn’t necessary to win in BEAD, there may still be one thing keeping you on the fence: meeting reporting and compliance guidelines. 

And you wouldn’t be alone. In fact, more than 70% of cooperatives reported that their greatest concern in BEAD was fulfilling reporting and compliance requirements. 

Software is the solution

Software can automate nearly all of your post-award reporting and compliance burden, and thus allow you to focus on connecting more families to the broadband service they need. 

Ready’s ARC platform is designed to help BEAD applicants save time by skipping the manual self-reporting process and mountains of paperwork with a single digital workflow. This, in turn, means that applicants are able to coordinate their deployments with marketing efforts while also supplying updates regularly.

This allows for applicants to answer questions, such as “Where is the network at this moment?”, “Are broadband performance obligations met?” and “How is service at location X?”

Using ARC’s open Proof of Passings Standard (POPS), any Build America Buy America -compliant equipment can be connected to the platform to save time and provide other benefits. This includes geospatial attestations of service availability, quality, and affordability and automation and digitization of the passings reporting process. 

ARC’s capabilities also includes automated Proof of Marketing™️, a BEAD requirement that those awarded BEAD grants make demonstrable efforts to market plans to unserved and underserved locations, and Proof of Labor™️, which ensures compliance with Davis-Bacon among other labor and workforce requirements. 

Ready ARC also includes America’s Broadband Audit, a public report card on America’s current broadband reality and Performance Test and Surveys. 

Lastly, BEAD applicants should utilize Broadband.money, a one-stop applicant platform that provides tools and resources for every stage of the BEAD journey. 

Time is of the essence and your communities are counting on you. And, remember, if you don’t apply, your competition will.