KGPCo AMONG FIRST TO MAKE NOKIA BABA COMPLIANT PRODUCTS AVAILABLE TO THE MASSES

FARIBAULT, Minn., March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- KGPCo, North America's largest supply chain and network solutions partner, announced today that it is among the first in the industry to stock and make Build America Buy America (BABA) -certified products from Nokia available to BEAD award winners. This milestone enables grant recipients to accelerate project execution, meet compliance requirements, and quickly deliver high-speed broadband services to the unconnected or underserved.

"As BEAD funding moves from planning to deployment, speed and compliance are everything," said Ashley Travers, Vice President of Partner Strategy at KGPCo. "By providing immediate access to BABA-certified products from Nokia through our joint stocking agreement, we're giving operators the tools they need to fast-track procurement, avoid costly delays, and connect communities faster."

With the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program representing the largest federal broadband investment in U.S. history, early access to certified solutions gives awardees a critical first-mover advantage. Through KGPCo, BEAD award winners can immediately access a host of BABA certified products from Nokia, ensuring each can design, build, and scale network deployments confidently and compliantly within required deployment intervals.

"Our collaboration with KGPCo ensures BEAD award winners have seamless access to our certified technology," said Sandy Motley, President of Fixed Networks at Nokia. "Together, we're removing barriers to deployment, accelerating network builds, and helping close the digital divide faster."

KGPCo is a long-standing partner of Nokia, which was one of the first network vendors to self-certify that all its fiber broadband products manufactured in the U.S. are Buy America-compliant and meet the final guidelines specified by the NTIA. It was also one of the first to manufacture and make available US manufactured BABA products for fiber network buildouts.

KGPCo is North America's largest supply chain logistics supplier and systems integrator to MSOs, ISPs, communications service providers, state and local municipalities, electric coops, and tribal nations. KGPCo can provide solutions for every type of network build, customized to meet your specific needs at scale, including the passive OSP materials and active electronics required to build and maintain your middle mile or last mile network. Along with our portfolio of supply partners, we provide comprehensive network solutions from core, transport, right down to the customer's door, ensuring proper alignment with any federal funding requirements through Made in America/BABA compliance and exceptions. No one is better suited than KGPCo in our industry to provide and deliver solutions to meet the needs of our customers.

Media Contact:

Kristen Kohler

Senior Director of Marketing

KGPCo

E: [email protected]

P: 507-334-2268

SOURCE KGPCo