Context on Multi-Dwelling Units and BEAD

BEAD
funding
An analysis of how multi-dwelling unit (MDU) locations factor into BEAD awards and remaining unfunded locations.
Author

Alex Karras, Michael Santorelli

Published

April 1, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Multi-dwelling unit (MDU) locations make up a small share of broadband serviceable locations but a much larger share of units (e.g., apartments, offices, etc.).
  • Among BEAD-awarded locations, 278,571 (7.2%) are MDUs, accounting for 879,582 units (19.7%).
  • Among remaining unfunded locations, 96,082 (8.6%) are MDUs, but they account for 369,757 units (26.6%).
  • MDUs are thus somewhat overrepresented among remaining unfunded locations relative to BEAD awards, particularly in terms of housing units.
  • Most MDU locations are small (2 to 4 units), but a handful of very large buildings account for a disproportionate number of units.
  • Most Medium and Large MDUs in remaining unfunded areas sit in well-served neighborhoods. 81% of Medium and 74% of Large MDU units are surrounded by locations that are 80–100% served. Small MDUs show a wider range of neighborhood service levels.

Background

A single “Broadband Serviceable Location” (BSL or “location”) can contain many units. For example, an apartment building may have dozens or hundreds of units. The FCC’s Broadband Serviceable Location (BSL) Fabric includes a unit_count for each location, which allows for analysis that accounts for this distinction.

Multi-dwelling units present unique deployment considerations. While serving a single MDU location can bring broadband to many households at once, the economics of MDU deployment differ from single-family homes. Factors such as building access, inside wiring, and landlord cooperation can impact deployment in ways that don’t apply to single-dwelling units (SDUs).

This analysis examines the MDU composition of both BEAD-awarded locations and remaining unfunded locations to provide context for ongoing discussions about broadband deployment priorities.

MDU Composition: BEAD Awards vs. Remaining Unfunded

Using the FCC’s Fabric (version 7) unit counts, we classified each location as either an MDU (more than 1 unit) or SDU (exactly 1 unit) and compared the two groups.

Table 1: MDU and SDU Locations and Units: BEAD Awards vs. Remaining Unfunded
BEAD
Locations		 BEAD
Units		 Remaining
Locations		 Remaining
Units
MDU (>1 unit) 278,571
(7.2%)		 879,582
(19.7%)		 96,082
(8.6%)		 369,757
(26.6%)
SDU (1 unit) 3,576,595
(92.8%)		 3,576,595
(80.3%)		 1,018,395
(91.4%)		 1,018,395
(73.4%)
Total 3,855,166 4,456,177 1,114,477 1,388,152

A few patterns are apparent:

  • MDUs are a small share of locations in both groups (7.2% of BEAD, 8.6% of remaining), but a much larger share of units (19.7% of BEAD, 26.6% of remaining).
  • The MDU unit share is higher among remaining unfunded locations (26.6%) than among BEAD awards (19.7%). This means that, when counting housing units rather than locations, a larger proportion of the unfunded gap is attributable to MDUs.
  • In total, roughly 369,757 housing units in MDU buildings lack funded 100/20 Mbps service after accounting for BEAD awards and other funding programs.

MDU Size Distribution

MDUs range widely from a duplex up to large apartment buildings with hundreds of units. The table below breaks down MDU locations by unit count.

Table 2: MDU Locations by Building Size
Units per Location BEAD
Locations		 BEAD
Units		 Remaining
Locations		 Remaining
Units
2–4 255,005 566,523 85,967 191,531
5–10 15,145 100,649 6,112 41,676
11–25 6,364 103,140 2,937 47,532
26–50 1,558 52,633 792 26,805
51–100 342 22,999 194 13,625
101+ 157 33,638 80 48,588

Among remaining unfunded MDUs:

  • Small buildings (2–4 units) dominate by location count, making up 89.5% of MDU locations. These are often duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes that may face deployment challenges similar to SDUs.
  • Large buildings (100+ units) are few but contain many units. Just 80 locations with 100+ units account for 48,588 units, more than any other size category except 2 to 4.

Service Level of Areas Around Remaining Unfunded MDUs

A useful way to contextualize remaining unfunded MDUs is to analyze the level of service in the area immediately around them. In other words, are they in areas where nearby locations typically have service, or are they in largely unserved territory? To explore this, we examined the share of locations within approximately half a mile of each MDU that are served with 100/20 Mbps terrestrial service.

The table and chart below show housing units by MDU building size and neighborhood served share.

Table 3: MDU Units by Building Size and Neighborhood Served Share
Neighborhood Served % Small MDU
(2-4)		 Medium MDU
(5-25)		 Large MDU
(26+)		 Total
Mostly Unserved
(0-20%)		 54,179
(28%)		 7,153
(8%)		 19,713
(22%)		 81,045
(22%)
Mixed
(20-80%)		 66,385
(35%)		 9,984
(11%)		 3,287
(4%)		 79,656
(22%)
Mostly Served
(80-100%)		 70,967
(37%)		 72,071
(81%)		 66,018
(74%)		 209,056
(57%)
Total 191,531 89,208 89,018 369,757
Figure 1: Remaining Unfunded MDU Units by Building Size and Neighborhood Served Level

A couple of patterns stand out:

  • Medium and Large MDUs are most often in well-served neighborhoods — 81% of Medium (5–25 unit) and 74% of Large (26+ unit) MDU housing units are in neighborhoods that are 80–100% served. For these buildings, broadband infrastructure may already be at the curb and might already be inside.
  • Small MDUs are more evenly distributed across neighborhood types, with 63% of their units in mostly unserved or mixed service areas.

Methodology

This analysis uses the “including satellite BEAD” scenario from our updated remaining unfunded locations analysis. BEAD-awarded locations include all technology types, including satellite (technology code 61). Remaining unfunded locations are those in the BFM without 100/20 Mbps terrestrial service that are not covered by BEAD or another deployment program (after also excluding state “No BEAD” locations, except those marked as too expensive to serve).

Unit counts are drawn from the FCC’s Fabric version 7 active BSL data. Locations not matched to the Fabric are assigned a default unit count of 1.

Neighborhood service levels are estimated using the FCC’s National Broadband Map. For each remaining unfunded MDU, we identify all locations within approximately half a mile using H3 resolution-8 hex grid cells (covering the location’s cell plus its six immediate neighbors). The share of those locations with at least one provider reporting terrestrial 100/20 Mbps service defines the “neighborhood served %” for that MDU.

Data Sources

  • Broadband Funding Map (BFM): FCC location-level funding data
  • BEAD Final Proposal data: State-reported BEAD award and “No BEAD” location lists
  • FCC Fabric version 7: Broadband Serviceable Location data with unit counts
  • FCC National Broadband Map: Provider-reported availability data (June 2025)