Executive Round Up: How are Companies Preparing to Support Partners through BEAD?

We asked executives in our industry how their companies are preparing to support their operator partners through the BEAD process. Here’s what they had to say. 

Koen ter Linde
SVP/President, CCS
CommScope

In support of the IIJA/BEAD initiative, all of CommScope’s fiber cable, including drop cable, is BABA compliant. CommScope is also planning to offer end-to-end BABA compliant FTTx connectivity in advance of awarded BEAD funds and construction. We recently announced fiber cable manufacturing capacity increases in our U.S. plants, and several new rural deployment innovations: HeliArc fiber cable, Prodigy connector and terminals, as well as new easy to deploy rural FTTx architectures. Finally, to help operators with BEAD, CommScope will be engaging in FTTx workforce training with both operators and states.

Bob Whitman
VP, Global Market Development for Carrier Networks
Corning

As the inventor of low-loss optical fiber, Corning is uniquely positioned to fulfill the requirements for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. We’ve invested more than $500 million in fiber and cable manufacturing since 2020—nearly doubling our ability to serve the U.S. cable market and ensure a strong supply of optical fiber and cable to meet the federal government’s ‘Made in America’ provision.