To prevent fraud, NTIA publishes a list of certified Buy America compliant companies

An NTIA executive announced today that the agency is about to release a Build America Buy America document with self-certified suppliers
The agency created this list to help prevent fraud in the BEAD program
But a CommScope executive expressed frustration with the process

BROADBAND NATION EXPO, WASHINGTON, DC – The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is about to release a list of broadband vendors that have self-certified that they make their equipment in the United States. That’s good news for everyone in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) ecosystem. And a CommScope manager indicated today that it was time.

Will Arbuckle, senior policy advisor at NTIA, said today that he has been working on the Build America Buy America (BABA) initiative for the BEAD program in 2023. During the process, he spoke to many companies and they told him they were concerned about the cost of sending their production back to the US. They are concerned that many companies will fraudulently claim that they make BEAD products in the US. , even if they aren’t.

“Hopefully next week we will publish the first version of a list where companies have been able to certify themselves, at the risk of fines, that they are indeed making certain equipment in the US. This would be a tool for ISPs, for manufacturers, for state broadband offices to see,” Arbuckle said. The list of BABA compliant companies will be published on the NTIA website.

He also said that when BEAD projects start, NTIA has a number of enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure that service providers who win grants adhere to BABA. These enforcement tools include reporting requirements, audits and site visits. “So I think we’ll look at the whole range of options available to try to make sure there are no bad actors here,” he said.

NTIA published its BABA exemption document in February 2024, specifying exactly what broadband equipment must be made in the US. At the time, NTIA said BABA waivers would remain in effect until February 2029, and that NTIA would review the rules annually to see if any changes should occur. be made. The first annual earnings will occur in February 2025.

Today, Arbuckle clarified that as long as a BEAD grant is active, the BABA requirement exists.

CommScope is having problems

After Arbuckle spoke today, John Chamberlain, Vice President of Technology for CommScope’s CCS segment, shared some of his thoughts on BABA. And he didn’t sound very happy about it.

“We’ve had to make a lot of changes in the industry to meet BABA standards,” Chamberlain said.

“It’s actually a bit of a chicken-and-egg issue. There are ISPs asking us for BABA qualified products, and the NTIA has no listing. So it’s not very comfortable right now,” he said.

He said CommScope receives requests for bids on BABA products “on a daily basis.” And as a manufacturer, it is crucial to have relevant information in advance to plan production capacity.

“I don’t want to discount the billions of dollars that the NTIA, the government, is giving to the BEAD program,” Chamberlain said, “but we have to start bidding on it now.”

For their part, NTIA representatives continue to say they are working as quickly as possible to put all the pieces of BEAD’s puzzle together, while respecting the fact that it is taxpayer money, and they want to get it right.

Today, Arbuckle said, “NTIA’s goal is to balance the spirit of the BABA Act with the primary goal of BEAD, which is to get everyone connected.”