BEAD Funding Is Coming: We Are Here To Help

Greg Bathrick, Area Vice President, Commercial Development, Calix

The Calix funding team understands how complex, cumbersome, and confusing the funding process can be. Over the past three years, we’ve helped hundreds of BSPs secure over $2 billion through federal and state funding programs. 

Now Is the Time To Act!

If we have learned one thing, it’s this: When funding is available, act fast. 
 

Many BSPs make the mistake of deciding to “wait and see” on public funding programs. They can’t figure out the complex funding maps or how the matching program works. Or they worry about the workload on their small teams in maintaining funding if they win it. 
 

Here’s the reality: If you don’t raise your hand to be considered for funding, government offices have no choice but to award the funding to those who applied. Who will serve your community best—you or your competitor? Additionally, the map challenge process is critical. Whether you are interested in pursuing BEAD funding or not, it’s in your best interest to participate in your state’s BEAD challenge process to make sure your serving area is represented accurately.

With Ready.net, We Are Making Complex Funding Processes Simple and Easy

That’s why we’re so excited to embark on this exclusive partnership with Ready.net. They are revolutionizing the funding process, bringing sophisticated software and data insights that level the playing field for smaller providers who struggle to navigate the red tape of government programs. With this exclusive partnership, your teams can leverage the Calix funding team, the Calix Broadband Platform, and Ready.net to: 

• Simplify every stage of the funding process. Access a streamlined portal powered by Ready.net so you can easily apply for and win grant funds, secure capital, and adhere to public funding requirements. 
  
  
• Reduce workloads for your team. With Ready.net, you will save hours on the work of researching, applying for, and maintaining funding. 

Backed by the new and exclusive alliance between Calix and Ready.net, your team will be able to win your fair share of BEAD and other programs. 

Talk with one of our experts today and learn how Calix and Ready.net will help you on your funding journey. 

Jase Wilson, Founder and CEO, Ready.net
 

Ready.net began its journey in 2020 when co-founder Mike Faloon and I asked a question: How can we innovate to help BSPs connect more families to better services and create more inclusive digital communities? Mike and I are both from small towns and have grown tired of our families and friends being left behind by the digital divide, especially in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Public investment into closing the digital divide was growing, but these programs weren’t perfect. They presented significant challenges to businesses, like yours, that wanted to make a difference but were working with small teams and limited resources. 
 

This was Ready’s unique opportunity to incorporate powerful software, data analysis, and geospatial mapping to help BSPs seamlessly navigate the complex and often mystifying public funding process. The Ready.net team is now revolutionizing every stage of the funding process for BSPs, including by helping general managers like Darren Farnan save hundreds of hours on repetitive tasks and paperwork. 

Use These 3 Solutions To Revolutionize Your Approach to Funding

1. Broadband.money: Over 2,000 broadband providers across all 50 states are enrolled in our flagship platform, broadband.money (powered by Ready.net) to:
   
   • Conduct pre-grant application research and development 
   • Build a comprehensive application profile and model 
   • Determine unserved and underserved areas 
   • Identify commercial entities and community anchor institutions 
   • Submit multiple grant applications, allowing BSPs to save time on repetitive tasks and paperwork 
   • Conduct required project monitoring, management, and compliance reporting
     
     
2. Ready ARC (Automated Reporting and Compliance): This solution specifically limits time spent by users on repetitive paperwork related to funding reporting and compliance. Arkansas, Ready’s pilot state for ARC, is predicting more than 400 hours saved on repetitive paperwork over the lifespan of their grants. 
   
   
3. Ready Grow: Set to launch by mid-2024, Ready Grow will place powerful geospatial mapping tools at the fingertips of BSPs to help them understand when, where, and how to grow. This will also include capabilities to drive take rates, boost average revenue per user (ARPU), and reduce churn. 

We Make It Easy To Act Now on BEAD 

Ready was built as a remote-first organization with leadership based in two cities on opposite sides of the country—Boston and San Francisco. Building a company like this represented our commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and helping shape the digital communities of the future. 
 

This commitment is one we share with Calix and all of you. We are excited about the potential of the partnership between Ready.net and Calix to help you advance your business and win your fair share of BEAD and other funding programs. Together, we will build a connected and inclusive world for all. 

Watch the replay of Michael Weening and me speaking live to the Ready.net Broadband Community during our recent “Ask Me Anything” (AMA).  

Darren Farnan, General Manager, United Fiber

We are thrilled to see Calix and Ready.net collaborate to make the funding process significantly easier for customers like us. At United Fiber, we’ve experienced Ready.net’s transformative power, saving countless hours on funding applications and securing $8 million in funding from the Missouri Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program.
 

From our founding in 2010, funding has been pivotal to United Fiber’s success, which includes dominating residential experiences with Calix SmartLife™ services, achieving 60–70 percent take rates and returning $9 million to members. Throughout our journey, we’ve been supported by $60 million in federal and state funding. This funding is specifically tied to high-cost rural areas and helps offset a portion of the cost to build much-needed fiber infrastructure. 

Ready.net Saved Us Countless Hours Applying for Funding

When we heard about Ready.net, we jumped at the opportunity to leverage their powerful set of tools. They’ve helped us: 

• Streamline our expansion plans: In 2021, we began leveraging their Broadband.money cloud data and software system to research and develop our expansion plans. In 2023, their broadband serviceable location and demand point mapping and demographic data helped us save untold hours on our Missouri state grant application. 
  
  
• Identify areas that need service with precision: With Ready.net, we can get detailed data on speed tests and FCC 477 at the household and neighborhood level, which lets us see precisely which communities need better service. Then, we can participate in both state and NTIA challenge processes. 
  
  
• Create a strong case for funding, backed by data: Using Ready.net’s proprietary and publicly available data, we can make the case that, although another provider may claim to serve a particular household or neighborhood, independent speed test data shows that these locations are underserved or unserved. Without support from Ready.net, we would not have had the resources or bandwidth among our team to put in this level of research. 

Both Calix and Ready.net exemplify the innovative partnerships that help United Fiber deliver exceptional value to our Missourian communities. Together, we’re not just building networks; we’re building opportunities and empowering communities to thrive in the digital age.

Learn more about how United Fiber benefited from partnering with Ready.net.