BOSTON — On February 18, 2026, Governor Maura Healey announced via X that Massachusetts has secured final approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, enabling universal high-speed broadband coverage statewide.
The approval provides $18.8 million to the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Massachusetts Broadband Institute (MBI) to extend reliable internet to all remaining unserved and underserved locations, including 251 communities, 2,565 homes and businesses, and 1,243 community anchor institutions.
Healey emphasized that high-speed internet is essential—not a luxury—for residents to find jobs, connect with family and friends, and access government services.This final step builds on earlier BEAD milestones, such as NTIA’s July 2024 approval of the state’s Initial Proposal (Volume 2), which allocated $147 million overall and outlined challenge processes for verifying coverage gaps based on FCC data…