H.R. 3298: BEAD FEE Act of 2023

This bill restricts recipients of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program grants from charging fees related to the deployment of broadband infrastructure. The BEAD Program provides funds to states and territories for broadband deployment, connectivity, mapping, and adoption projects.

Generally, the bill prohibits grant recipients from charging fees for (1) considering requests for deploying broadband infrastructure; or (2) using or accessing land, or existing infrastructure on land, that is owned or managed by a state, territory, or locality (i.e., a right-of-way) to deploy broadband infrastructure.

However, the bill permits recipients to charge fees if they are nondiscriminatory, publicly disclosed, and based on actual and direct costs. Additionally, recipients must describe the fees in a manner that distinguishes between (1) recurring and nonrecurring fees, and (2) using a right-of-way with and without existing infrastructure.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.