BABA Rules for Fiber Materials on BEAD Builds

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On a BEAD-funded build, the optical fiber and fiber optic cable must be made in the United States, from melting the glass through drawing the fiber and jacketing the finished cable. The Commerce Department’s 2024 BEAD waiver relaxes only narrow pieces of that rule, such as the overclad cylinders used to make preforms and the connectors added to finished cable. Cabinets, vaults, handholes, pedestals, closures and terminals must also meet the Buy America Preference, while passive optical parts like splitters are waived.

Which rules govern fiber on a BEAD project?

The Build America, Buy America Act sets a domestic preference for iron, steel, manufactured products and construction materials in federally funded infrastructure. OMB’s rules in 2 CFR part 184 define what “produced in the United States” means for each material. Commerce then issued a BEAD waiver that narrows the rule for specific items.

The waiver runs from February 22, 2024 through February 22, 2029 and flows down to subrecipients. NTIA’s BEAD General Terms and Conditions, updated November 2025, require grantees to follow 2 CFR part 184, OMB Memo M-24-02 and that final waiver.

What has to be made in the United States for fiber and cable?

The waiver treats fiber and cable as construction materials. All optic glass, core rods included, must meet the glass standard in 2 CFR 184.6. Every step from batching and melting the raw materials through annealing, cooling and cutting has to happen here. Optical fiber must be made here from preform fabrication through completion of the draw. Fiber optic cable must be made here from ribboning (where it applies) through buffering, stranding and jacketing. The cable standard pulls in the glass and fiber standards but not the separate standard for plastic and polymer products.

Two things are waived. Non-optic-glass inputs to preforms, with an overclad cylinder as the example, can come from anywhere. Connectors count as minor additions, so they need not be made in the United States or attached to the cable here. Commerce’s de minimis waiver cannot be used for fiber or cable purchases.

Do enclosures, vaults and pedestals count?

Yes. The waiver names four enclosure groups. They are cabinets, vaults and other below ground housings such as handholes and pull boxes, pedestals and other above ground housings, and closures and terminals. Commerce declined to waive the 55 percent cost of components test for any of them.

Cabinets, vaults and pedestals must also have subassemblies integrated, internal parts and wiring installed, sealing and waterproofing done, and testing, labeling and documentation completed in the United States. Closures and terminals must have their molded outer shell made here. Each enclosure is judged on its own, and the de minimis waiver does not apply to them.

What is waived on the outside plant side?

Passive optical equipment is waived. The waiver lists splitters, multiplexers, taps, couplers, connectors, optical filters, attenuators and wave division multiplexers that need no power. Fiber and cable are expressly excluded from that category.

Most electronics are waived too, except OLTs and remote OLTs, OLT line cards, optic pluggables and standalone ONTs and ONUs. Those four must have listed manufacturing steps done here.

Other network equipment that is not electronics, such as conduit, mounting brackets and patch panels, is not waived. Commerce expects its de minimis waiver to cover most projects for those items, and owners must make a good faith effort to measure the quantity and value of minor hardware. Iron and steel products get no BEAD-specific waiver at all.

Does it cover matching funds and the whole project?

It covers the entire project, including matching funds from any source. An owner cannot pay for a noncompliant item with its own money, and contracts cannot be split to dodge the rule. Tools and equipment used to build the network are not covered.

A separate statute bars subgrantees from using BEAD funds on fiber optic cable or optical transmission equipment made in China. That bar applies regardless of any Buy America waiver.

Did the June 2025 BEAD restructuring change any of this?

Not that we found. NTIA’s Restructuring Policy Notice of June 6, 2025 replaced parts of the original program rules but does not address Buy America. NTIA’s February 2026 refresher, written for the program as modified by that notice, still points to the 2024 waiver. We found no amendment to the waiver in NTIA’s published guidance as of October 2026.

What paperwork proves compliance?

NTIA puts primary responsibility on subrecipients to decide whether a product is covered, and states must monitor them. A product has to be compliant, with documents in hand, before it is installed.

For covered items, the manufacturer gives the subrecipient a certification letter. It names the requirement, the product, a description, the quantity and where it was made, and an authorized company representative signs it. Waived items do not need a letter. Commerce also publishes a self-certification list of manufacturers whose officers have certified compliance.

For waived electronics, subrecipients keep a tracker with manufacturer, category, 10-digit HS code, product identifier, description, country of origin and quantity. The state passes it to NTIA in semi-annual reports. Failures can lead to removing and replacing materials, a smaller award, withheld funds or termination.

In Pennsylvania, the PBDA Final Proposal requires subgrantees to submit a certification or report of Buy America compliance with semi-annual progress reports, which are due January 10 and July 10.

On the builds we work, the contractor’s job is to install only documented, approved material and to raise any substitution before it goes in the ground.

What should the owner and contractor have on file?

Manufacturer certification letters for every fiber, cable and enclosure line item
Letters for any OLTs, line cards, optic pluggables or standalone ONTs in the project
The tracker for finished waived electronics
Records of de minimis use for other network equipment and minor hardware
Buy America language in every contract and subcontract
Receiving records that match delivered material to certified products and quantities
A log of substitutions approved before installation
Copies of any project-specific waiver the state obtained

FAQ

Can fiber made in Canada or Mexico be used on a BEAD build? Not under the general waiver. Fiber and cable must be made in the United States, and the de minimis waiver cannot be applied to them. Any other waiver must be requested by the state and approved before purchase.

Do connectors and preterminated assemblies have to be made in the United States? Connectors do not. Commerce treats them as minor additions, so they can be made and attached abroad as long as the cable itself meets the domestic standard.

Is conduit covered by the BEAD waiver? No. Conduit is other network equipment, which is not waived. Commerce expects its department-wide de minimis waiver to cover most projects for those items.

Who can ask for an additional waiver? Only the state or territory running BEAD, case by case. Commerce and OMB’s Made in America Office must approve it before the material is bought, and waivers cannot be granted retroactively.

Sources

Patriot Broadband Technologies builds outside plant fiber for ISPs, carriers and electric co-ops, and our scope is on the outside plant construction page.