BEAD Make-Ready Pole Data

No pole data, no fiber.

Every BEAD aerial build waits on a survey, a load calculation and a make-ready decision for each pole. Alamo Airborne flies the route and delivers engineer-ready pole data.

Request a free proof of concept

  • 10,000+ poles captured
  • 98% positive identification accuracy
  • 50 states W-2 Alamo pilots
  • Engineer-ready stops before the PE stamp

The bottleneck moved to the pole.

3.9 millionutility poles touched by BEAD builds

42%of BEAD fiber is expected to go aerial

May 7, 2026new FCC pole attachment clocks took effect

What changed in the FCC rules
  • Standard orders: 45 days to survey, 14 days to estimate, 30 days for make-ready in the communications space.
  • Orders of 300 to 3,000 poles need 15 days advance notice. Orders of 3,000 to 6,000 need 60 days notice and a meet-and-confer, in exchange for extra survey and make-ready time.
  • Utilities can no longer combine size and frequency limits to cap applications.
  • Utilities have 30 days to act on an attacher-proposed contractor. No answer means approved.
  • Missed deadlines trigger expanded self-help rights for attachers.

Every one of those clocks assumes someone already has accurate data on the pole.

Why co-ops and municipal utilities are now in scope

NTIA’s January 2026 BEAD terms extend FCC pole attachment rules to cooperatives and municipal utilities that take BEAD money, across their whole pole footprint. Many were previously exempt and do not have current, field-verified pole records.

Where the money goes wrong

Make-ready, not fiber, is where cost and schedule risk sits. Records built from old permit files miss attachments that are actually on the pole. A load calculation built on missing attachments is wrong, and so is the estimate built on it.

One flight. Everything the engineer needs.

What Alamo Airborne captures on each pole A utility pole with power conductors at the top, a transformer, communication cables below, a guy wire and anchor, with each measurement Alamo Airborne records labeled. Power and neutral heights Transformers, risers, equipment Clearance to power Every attacherby owner and height Pole tag, height, lean Midspan clearance to ground Guys and anchors
Pole identification

Pole tag, owner, GPS location, height, class where legible, and lean.

Attachment inventory

Every attachment by owner with measured heights, including attachments missing from permit records.

Clearances

Separations between power and communications at the pole and midspan, and midspan clearance to ground.

Equipment

Transformers, risers, guys, anchors, streetlights and other hardware.

Loading inputs

Structural inputs for pole loading analysis, exported to utility-specific application templates.

Source data

Georeferenced imagery and point cloud for every structure. Your engineer can verify any measurement without a truck roll.

Built for three buyers.

Subgrantees and ISPs

Get make-ready applications in on the award timeline. We collect once and deliver in the format your engineering partner and the pole owner require.

Engineering and make-ready firms

We are a data supplier, not a competitor. Add field and processing capacity for peak BEAD volume without buying aircraft or hiring crews you will not need when volume drops.

Utilities and cooperatives

The FCC timelines assume current records. We verify what is actually on your poles and find attachments your records miss.

How it runs.

  1. Fit call. Ten minutes. Route, pole owners, deliverable format.
  2. Free proof of concept. A sample segment, processed to your spec.
  3. Field collection. Alamo pilots fly the route.
  4. Processing and QA. Automated extraction, then review of every structure.
  5. Delivery. Data, imagery and exports to your engineer of record.

BEAD awards by state.

Who won, how much, and where the aerial work is. Sorted by BEAD dollars.

Texas$1.26B BEAD

22 subgrantees. 240,124 locations. 7,574 aerial fiber miles.

Largest wired builders

  1. 4 IP Technology and Media
  2. Astound Networks
  3. Lyte Fiber
  4. Plains Internet
  5. Frontier Southwest

Construction expected to start as early as fall/winter 2026.

Michigan$918M BEAD

29 subgrantees. 116 projects. 4,497 aerial fiber miles.

Largest wired builders

  1. Strategic Management, LLC
  2. 123NET
  3. Surf Internet
  4. Midwest Energy & Communications
  5. ITC Broadband

Final Proposal approved December 16, 2025.

Wisconsin$704M BEAD

28 subgrantees. 174,651 locations. 127 projects.

Largest wired builders

  1. Bertram Communications
  2. Brightspeed
  3. Hilbert Communications
  4. Sokaogon Chippewa Tribe
  5. CTC Telcom

Projects and amounts finalized. Grant agreements going out.

Virginia$473M BEAD

8 recipients. Provider-level totals. Final Proposal approved.

Largest wired builders

  1. All Points Broadband
  2. Comcast
  3. RiverStreet Networks
  4. ZiTel
  5. EMPOWER Broadband

Provider totals published. Project detail to follow.

Idaho$426M BEAD

23 subgrantees. 91,281 locations. 94 projects.

Largest wired builders

  1. FyberCom
  2. Wi-Fiber
  3. ETS Management
  4. MiFiber
  5. Ziply Fiber

NTIA approved. NIST Notice of Award issued.

North Carolina$319M BEAD

20 providers. 93,437 locations. Awards approved by NTIA.

Largest wired builders

  1. Brightspeed
  2. AT&T
  3. Spectrum
  4. Frontier
  5. Comporium

Awards approved by NTIA.

Florida$230M BEAD

20 subgrantees. 2,556 aerial fiber miles. 69 projects.

Largest wired builders

  1. Comcast
  2. Conexon Connect
  3. AT&T
  4. Spectrum
  5. Central Florida Electric Cooperative

Awards subject to final grant agreements.

Oregon$111M BEAD

7 awardees. 12,500+ locations. All fiber to the home.

Largest wired builders

  1. Douglas Fast Net
  2. Ziply Fiber
  3. Alyrica Networks
  4. Pioneer Connect
  5. Farmers Mutual Telephone

Awarded. Contract execution in progress.

Iowa$93M visible

12 visible awardees. Partial list. Final Proposal approved.

Largest wired builders

  1. Mediacom
  2. Grand River Mutual Telephone
  3. BTC, Inc.
  4. Maquoketa Valley Electric Cooperative
  5. Citizens Mutual Telephone

Partial list from the public notice. Full file pending.

From state Final Proposal and award files, as of September 2026. Satellite and fixed-wireless awardees are left out of the builder lists because they do not attach to poles. Figures change as grant agreements are signed.

Questions.

Do you stamp make-ready drawings?

No. We deliver engineer-ready data. Your engineer of record runs the final analysis and stamps the package.

What does 98% mean?

Positive identification accuracy: the share of poles, attachments and equipment our process identifies correctly. Imagery and point cloud ship with every pole, so any call can be checked.

Can you work on federally funded projects?

Yes. We match the aircraft to the project’s funding requirements. An NDAA-compliant fleet is available.

Where do you work?

All 50 states and U.S. territories. All Alamo field work is by W-2 pilots only, never contractors.

How is this different from a ground survey?

A ground crew measures pole by pole. We capture the pole, its attachments and the spans in one flight, then extract the measurements. You keep a permanent, verifiable record of every structure.

What does the free proof of concept include?

A sample segment on your route, collected and processed to your deliverable format, so your engineer can compare it against their own standard before any contract.

Start with one segment.

Send the route or county. We reply with a scope and a proof-of-concept date.

Email BEAD@alamoairborne.com

Or call 210-972-1818. Based in San Antonio. Crews in all 50 states.

Sources: Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute, study of BEAD pole make-ready costs. FCC Wireline Competition Bureau, Public Notice DA 26-446 (Fifth Report and Order effective May 7, 2026). NTIA BEAD General Terms and Conditions, January 2026. State BEAD Final Proposal and award files.