February 24, 2025
Building Smart Cities with BABA-Certified Infrastructure
As cities evolve into smart urban centers designed to support work, play, and living, the need for reliable communication infrastructure becomes more critical. Federal programs supporting communication service providers enable high-speed connectivity and the technologies that drive smart cities forward. One cornerstone of these federal initiatives is the Build America, Buy America (BABA) certification, which ensures that materials used in broadband deployments are domestically sourced and meet rigorous federal standards. This certification plays a key role in ensuring that the infrastructure supporting smart cities is both high-quality and reliable, giving developers, planners, and policymakers confidence in the systems they implement.
While the specific details of the new Trump administration’s approach to federal funding remain unclear as of February 2025, it is expected that BABA, in some form, will continue to shape the future of broadband infrastructure.
The Importance of BABA in Smart City Infrastructure
Smart cities rely on integrated systems to enable technologies like IoT, smart grids, and other next-gen solutions. BABA-certified products are crucial to building these systems. For example, Oldcastle Infrastructure’s Duralite lightweight enclosures, engineered for tier 15 and tier 22 loads, are indispensable in forming the infrastructure backbone of these cities, ensuring the correct connection are made to enable data to flow securely. In addition, Oldcastle’s Primex product line offers fiber-to-the-home solutions, including fiber interface (NID) enclosures and premise distribution components; both used to design and enable high-speed internet service deployments.
Our BABA certified products meet the rigorous standards of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which directs $42.45 billion toward enhancing high-speed internet access in underserved areas. We expect these standards to be part of other future funding programs as this approach not only promotes American manufacturing but also guarantees that the infrastructure built for smart cities is robust, sustainable, and reliable.
Streamlining BABA Compliance
BABA compliance strengthens the integrity of the BEAD Program by ensuring that only domestically produced equipment is used, reinforcing the commitment to American manufacturing and securing eligibility for federally funded projects. Compliance also benefits manufacturers by enhancing their reputation and increasing their competitiveness in the market.
The Department of Commerce plays a critical role in this process by maintaining a BABA Self-Certification list. This tool allows manufacturers to demonstrate their products meet domestic manufacturing standards, providing transparency to service providers and contractors. This makes it easier for stakeholders to select certified products and ensures that companies like Oldcastle remain trusted partners for federally funded infrastructure projects.
Commitment to American Manufacturing
Oldcastle Infrastructure proudly supports U.S. manufacturing through its extensive network of facilities that serve the communications, energy, and water infrastructure markets.
