When will BEAD service reach my house? Where every state stands (November 2026)

A BEAD award only starts the clock. The funded provider has four years from the day it receives its subgrant to build and offer service, and in early November 2026 many states had signed only some of those subgrants. Most state project files put estimated finish dates between 2027 and 2030.

So “BEAD picked a provider for my address” and “I can order next month” are far apart. Below are the steps in between, and where each state stood as of Nov 3, 2026.

Five steps from award to “you can order”

1. Plan approved. NTIA approves the state’s final proposal, which names a provider and a technology for each funded location. Every state’s plan had been approved by August 25, 2026.
2. Grant agreement signed. The state and the provider sign the subgrant. Until then the award is provisional, and the provider can still walk away.
3. Reviews and permits. Environmental reviews, pole agreements and road permits. Maine’s broadband office estimates design and permitting at 6 to 18 months.
4. Construction. Crews hang or bury fiber or put up towers; for a satellite award, the provider makes service available at funded locations. Maine estimates construction at one to four years.
5. Service. The provider takes orders at your address. For a wired build, this is when you’d get an install date.

Why the clock starts at signing, not approval

Federal law gives each funded provider four years “after the date on which the subgrantee receives the subgrant” to build and begin service, a rule NTIA repeats in its BEAD FAQ (version 19, March 2026). Plan approval doesn’t start that clock. The subgrant does.

States date the subgrant in slightly different ways. Iowa’s agreement counts four years “from the date of execution of this grant agreement.” New Hampshire counts from the day the Governor and Council approve the subgrant. Oklahoma says each project’s period of performance starts when the provider signs.

So a provider that signed in October 2026 has until October 2030. One that signs in 2027 has until 2031. Extensions are possible in limited cases. Many builds finish well before the deadline, especially where the provider already has lines nearby, so treat the four years as a ceiling rather than a forecast.

Where every state stands

The table below comes from each state’s BEAD records as checked for this site on November 3, 2026. It shows NTIA’s approval date, the latest signing news found, and the finish date the state itself gives, usually an estimate from its project file. “None found” means the check turned up no signing news, not that nothing was signed. Each state name links to its guide, which lists the sources.

What slows a build down

A winner backs out before signing. In Texas, four provisional winners released about 31,000 locations in mid-2026, according to Broadband Breakfast, and the state re-awarded more than 27,000 of them through a special process in June. Oregon had four awardees decline 13,381 locations before its June 10, 2026 deadline. New Mexico rescinded eleven awards to one company on July 1, 2026. Every re-award restarts the paperwork. There’s more on what happens when a provider backs out.

A contract isn’t signed by the deadline. By Oregon’s September 18, 2026 deadline, Comcast and Starlink had not signed. The state said it would work with the companies and NTIA on next steps. Starlink held 48,631 Oregon locations in the approved plan. The Oregon news item has the details.

Payments stop. Texas paused BEAD payments to its providers on August 12, 2026, Broadband Breakfast reported, and no end date had turned up by November 3.

The location list changes. States have removed locations that newer FCC data shows as already served, or as buildings that aren’t homes. Minnesota’s office said required scope changes “often include removing locations newly identified as already served or re-awarding locations when providers decline an award.”

Reviews take time. Wisconsin had 111 agreements signed by September 25, 2026, and its first environmental decision memos cleared construction to begin that fall. Signing and digging are months apart even when everything goes smoothly.

How to find your own step

1. Open your state’s award map. Your state guide links it in the BEAD section. Search your address and note the provider and the technology.
2. Check the state’s BEAD news or updates page. Look for your provider’s name next to “signed,” “executed” or “grant agreement.”
3. Call the provider. Ask whether its agreement for your area is signed, whether permits have been filed for your road, and which construction phase covers your address.
4. Ask about pre-registration. Many co-ops and small phone companies take sign-ups by zone, and some build first where sign-ups are highest. See how co-op pre-registration works.
5. Write down what they tell you, with the date. If the answer changes later, you’ll know by how much.

If your address isn’t on the award map at all, here’s why BEAD may have skipped it.

What to do while you wait

A funded build two or three years out still leaves you needing internet now, and the right stopgap depends on how long the wait really is. Choosing internet while you wait for a funded build goes through it by wait length, from a few months to “no date yet.”

How the BEAD build clock works →