Operators delivering BEAD-funded projects cannot control every permitting process. But they can influence how much new infrastructure actually needs to be built. With 86,402 potential permitting-related events already associated with BEAD projects, reusing existing infrastructure can reduce the need for additional construction, approvals and coordination inside multi-dwelling units.
BEAD is moving from planning into construction, making permitting an increasingly important part of project execution.
An August 2026 analysis by Broadband Expanded and the Advanced Communications Law & Policy Institute at New York Law School identified 86,402 potential permitting-related events across 6,933 BEAD project areas. More than half of the projects face more than ten such events, while the median project involves eight separate authorities. These can include wetlands, highways, energy infrastructure, railroads and municipal requirements.
A separate analysis identified 23,566 BEAD-awarded MDUs with five or more units, representing 313,059 apartments. Once the network reaches these properties, additional construction may still be required before subscribers are actually connected.
Fiber to the property can be followed by a second build
A conventional FTTH retrofit may require a new optical distribution network through risers, common areas and into individual apartments. Depending on local rules and the scope of work, this can involve additional permits, inspections, cable pathways, wall penetrations and coordination with property owners and residents.
InCoax instead reuses the building’s existing coaxial network from the entry point to individual apartments. This can avoid much of the new cabling and associated construction work.
It does not remove every approval or the need for property access. But less construction can mean fewer permits and inspections, less coordination and less disruption.
Fiber Access Extension reduces the additional build
InCoax does not change the permitting required to bring fiber to the property. Its impact starts at the building entry point. Fiber Access Extension uses the existing coaxial network for the final connection to subscribers, avoiding new optical cable runs, pathways and wall penetrations inside the property.
The benefit is not that InCoax makes a fiber permitting process faster. It is that some of the construction that would otherwise require additional permits, approvals and coordination may no longer be necessary.
Across 23,566 BEAD-awarded MDUs with five or more units, this can be a meaningful deployment consideration.
FWA can take the principle further
Where Fixed Wireless Access is technically and economically suitable, the same principle can extend outside the property. Part of a wired access route may be replaced with FWA, while InCoax uses existing coax inside the building.
This can reduce selected construction and dependencies such as pole attachments, crossings and rights-of-way. FWA may require its own approvals, so the relevant comparison is the overall construction and permitting exposure of each architecture.
Infrastructure reuse in practice
In Cleveland, InCoax over existing coax was combined with Tarana next-generation FWA. A total of 502 apartments across 47 buildings were addressed in 45 working days.
The project does not quantify permits avoided. What it does demonstrate is that hundreds of apartments can be connected without constructing an entirely new cable distribution network inside each property.
Reuse more. Build less.
Fiber will remain the right choice for many BEAD routes. But once fiber reaches an existing MDU, that does not automatically have to trigger another full in-building cable build.
By reusing existing coax, operators can reduce the additional construction required to reach individual apartments. Where FWA is also suitable, the same principle can reduce selected parts of the external wired network.
The objective is not to avoid fiber or permitting. It is to avoid unnecessary new construction.
Reuse more. Build less.
Download supporting whitepaper Smarter BEAD deployment in MDUs with InCoax and MoCA Access™ 2.5
