The proposal by the Arkansas State Broadband Office to use around $305 million in federal funding to extend internet service to more than 79,000 underserved Arkansans is one step closer to reality.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has approved the state's final proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, better known as BEAD, the Department of Commerce said Tuesday.

The approved proposal differs from the preliminary plan that was released by the state in August. The approved version announced Tuesday cuts down the program's price by $3 million, drops three providers and reduces the number of locations served. The state was allocated over $1 billion in total, but only $305 million is slated to be spent. It's currently not clear what will

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