Category Archives: MN Broadband Fund Awards

Bois Forte-CTC extends NECS middle mile broadband to 2,000 locations around Lake Vermilion (St Louis and Koochiching Counties)

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The Timberjay has a nice article on the history of broadband in parts of St Louis and Koochiching Counties – from NESC middle mile in 2015 to the Bois Forte-CTC extensions today. It’s proof that, like Rome, FTTH was not built in a day. I’m going to share an abridged version below, but I strongly suggested checking out the original.

Roughly a decade ago, the Northeast Service Cooperative strung a massive web of fiber across northeastern Minnesota. But what you’re seeing today isn’t a duplication of that work. It’s the follow-through. Thanks to a partnership between NESC, the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa and the broadband company CTC, more than 2,000 homes and businesses around Lake Vermilion’s south shore, Pelican Lake, and Nett Lake are finally getting high-speed broadband service.   …

NESC’s “freeway” network was completed in 2015 after four years of construction and $43.5 million in federal investment. The goal wasn’t to wire every house. It was to build a middle mile, essential infrastructure that future projects could plug into.

Joe Weber, divisional director for the NESC middle mile system, said the project was originally built to serve schools, libraries, governments, and other public entities in places where private providers couldn’t justify the cost of running fiber.    …

The original network spanned eight counties and connected about 320 public facilities. Since then, it has grown to over 1,300 miles of fiber stretching from Cambridge to Grand Portage.
The Bois Forte–CTC project wouldn’t have been feasible without the NESC backbone. Without it, CTC would have faced the enormous expense of building long stretches of new fiber just to link the project area to the larger internet. By tapping into NESC’s existing system, those costs were avoided.  …

A common question that’s cropped up in recent months is whether a network built in 2011 to 2015 can keep up with the skyrocketing internet demands of 2025 and beyond. Both Weber and Buttweiler say that’s not a concern with fiber optics.
“The fiber itself has not changed at all,” Weber said. “The same investment 12 or 13 years ago is still working with new technology.”

Spectrum expands fiber access in Wright County with help from MN Broadband Grant

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Charter Communications reports…

Spectrum, the #1 rural internet provider in the nation*, today announced the expansion of Spectrum Internet, Mobile, TV and Voice services to more than 1,000 additional homes and small businesses in previously unserved or underserved addresses in Wright County, Minnesota.

Our multi-year rural construction initiative is driven by more than $7 billion in private investment from Charter and will ultimately add an additional 100,000+ miles of fiber-optic network infrastructure and deliver symmetrical and multi-gigabit speed internet access to more than 1.7 million new locations across the country.

The project was supported by Minnesota’s Border to Border Broadband Program with Round 7 funding in 2022 to build fiber-to-the-premise technology to previously unserved locations. This latest effort, which completed earlier this summer, includes areas north and west of Delano in the Town of Franklin, north of Rockford along the county line, and south and west of Buffalo Lake.

Woodstock Communications Deploys FTTP in Hatfield (Pipestone County) with MN State Grant

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The Pipestone Star reports…

Woodstock Communications has begun construction of a fiber optic internet network in the Hatfield area.

Work started east of Pipestone along State Highway 30 earlier this month. Woodstock Communications General Manager Terry Nelson said the project includes installing about 45 miles of fiber that will pass 116 homes in the project area. He said the fiber will be installed this fall and internet service is expected to be ready by the end of the year.

There will be no charge to residents in the project area to connect their residences. Projected pricing for broadband service is $44.95 for 100 megabits per second (Mbps) uploading and downloading speed, $54.95 for 250 Mbps, $74.95 for 500 Mbps and $104.95 for 1 gigabit per second. Nelson said that pricing is consistent with what Woodstock Communications charges in the rest of its service areas.

The project is estimated to cost $2,150,576. Woodstock Communications received a $1,612,932 grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) last year to help pay for it. The Pipestone County Commissioners voted in 2023 to provide $268,822 for the project, which would cover half of the local match for the grant. Woodstock Communications will pay the other half.

The project in the Hatfield area is phase one of a four-phase project to provide fiber internet access to all the rural parts of Pipestone County for an estimated $15,733,299. Woodstock Communications plans to seek other grants in the future to help fund the projects.

MN eNews September 2025: BEAD proposal deadline looms

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Comment on OBD’s Draft of Minnesota’s Final Proposal
The Office of Broadband Development released their Draft Final BEAD Proposal last week. They held an online meeting to discuss the draft before it was released and have planned a series of meetings this week around the state to talk to folks about the proposal. (See dates and times below.) The first meeting was in Hutchinson last Friday. OBD is looking for public comment on the draft on or before September 3 before they make changes and resubmit the draft to NTIA.

The MN Broadband Task Force met at Farmfest
The MN Broadband Task Force met at Farmfest. They heard from folks who have been (or still are) living on the slow end of the broadband divide. There was an interesting push-pull conversation about precision agriculture and the growing need for data and the ability to process it with the energy it requires and the possible impact on local water. One of the benefits of holding the meeting at Farmfest was the interest from local media.

State News   

Federal

Vendor/Technology News

Office of Broadband Development Updates and News:

Local Broadband News

Cottage Grove
The FCC is looking for comments about Cottage Grove’s rights-of-way contract with one provider

Fairmont County
Fairmont County Commission looks at 2026 budget – broadband is discussed as an investment

Itasca and St Louis Counties
Broadband Communities reports on progress of Paul Bunyan Communications in Itasca and St. Louis counties

McLeod County
Mediacom Communications launches multi-gig service in Howard Lake and Winsted, Minnesota (McLeod County)

Nobles County
Lismore Telephone and Nobles County kick of FTTP project funded by ReConnect and MN State Grants

North St Paul
North St Paul experiences cyberattack

Pine City
Office of Broadband Development visits ECE in Pine City (Pine County)

Superior (WI)
Publicly-owned ConnectSuperior now open for business in Superior WI

Upcoming Events, Opportunities and Resources

 

Lismore Telephone and Nobles County kick of FTTP project funded by ReConnect and MN State Grants

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The Worthington Globe…

Many local companies are working together to bring enhanced broadband services to underserved, rural Nobles County residents, using approximately 637 miles of fiber to provide high-speed internet to 1,550 households and sites.

Bill Loonan, general manager of Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company, met with Nobles County commissioners and other project stakeholders Wednesday morning in Bigelow to kick off the Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) project.

They are working on a project in the area…

[Nobles County Board Chairman Gene] Metz said Nobles County invested $4 million into this project — money set aside from wind production tax revenues the county received.

“Our counties decided to spend their production tax to bring that service to everybody in the rural area,” Metz said.

Total project costs amount to $27.4 million. Funding for the project consists of 50% loan and 50% grant, with $13.7 million requested through grants and $5.7 million requested through loans. An additional $8 million is a cash substitution amount for the loan portion.

Lismore Cooperative applied for and received a grant of $19.4 million from the Rural Development Broadband ReConnect Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Another grant was received through the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program. In all, $208,598 was awarded specifically for the FTTP project in Bigelow.

More details…

The total FTTP project cost for Bigelow alone adds up to $695,328. The project area encompasses about 4.16 miles of buried fiber that will serve 113 locations, of which 19 are unserved and 94 are underserved.

Nobles County has awarded $35,000 toward the Bigelow project and the City of Bigelow has funded $15,000. The FTTP network is aimed at bridging the digital divide in the rural city of Bigelow.

EVENT Aug 28: Office of Broadband Development Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal Virtual Information Session

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Just a reminder (or heads up) of the next Office of Broadband Development Office Hours…

Registration now open for the Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal Virtual Information Session, Thursday August 28 at 11am CST, which will provide an overview of the Final Proposal, steps for public comment, and next steps for BEAD in Minnesota. This webinar will be recorded and posted to the OBD BEAD webpage.

I assume the Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal will be the hot topic…

The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal will be posted to the OBD BEAD webpage for a 7-day public comment on Thursday August 28. The Final Proposal is due to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) by Friday September 4.

It will be interesting to see who shows up for the meeting. I expect we’ll see many applicants, which should include many of the following:

Approved BEAD Applicants (8/8/2025)

  1. Ace Telephone Association
  2. AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC d/b/a Nextlink Internet
  3. Broadband Corp
  4. Christensen Communications Company
  5. Consolidated Communications
  6. CTC
  7. EarthLink
  8. East Central Energy Fiber
  9. Emily Cooperative Telephone Company
  10. Federated Rural Electric Association
  11. Frontier
  12. Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Company
  13. Gateway Infrastructure LLC
  14. Hanson Communication
  15. Harmony Telephone Company
  16. IBT Group USA, LLC
  17. Johnson Telephone Company
  18. KMTelecom
  19. Kuiper
  20. MCC Broadband Data
  21. Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association
  22. Midco
  23. MiEnergy
  24. Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative
  25. MVTV Wireless
  26. Nuvera
  27. Otter Tail Telcom
  28. PAUL BUNYAN COMMUNICATIONS
  29. PCs for People
  30. Pinnacle Broadband LLC
  31. Red River Communications
  32. Runestone Telephone Association
  33. SCI Broadband
  34. Sjobergs
  35. Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
  36. Spectrum Mid-America, LLC
  37. Sytek Tekstar Communications, Inc.
  38. Wikstrom Telephone Company Inc
  39. Windstream Lakedale, Inc.
  40. Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association
  41. Woodstock Communications
  42. Xfinity

And be sure to mark your calendars for early September meetings…

OBD will be announcing regional, in-person Final Proposal Information Sessions on the BEAD Final Proposal. These will be scheduled the first week in September, and open to anyone to attend with no registration required. When finalized, dates and logistics will be posted to the OBD BEAD webpage and shared in another email blast.

 

Office of Broadband Development Updates: Upcoming events and BEAD & Line Extension updates

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From the Office of Broadband Development…

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

  • Broadband Task Force at August Farmfest
  • Restructured BEAD Round updates + upcoming information sessions
  • Line Extension Connection Program
  • Broadband events and news

Broadband Task Force at August Farmfest

The Broadband Task Force met at Minnesota Farmfest last week to discuss the important connection between broadband and agriculture. This meeting featured a panel discussion with Commissioner Thom Petersen (Department of Agriculture), Miles Kuschel (Board of Directors, District 6, Minnesota Farm Bureau), and Anne Schwagerl (Vice President, Minnesota Farmers Union) on topics around precision agriculture, AI in agriculture, and the future of broadband in agriculture in Minnesota.

A huge thank you to the panelists and attendees for sharing their time and expertise in discussing this important topic.

Restructured BEAD Round updates + upcoming information sessions

OBD is currently reviewing and deconflicting locations from the Restructured Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Round of subgrantee selection.

Next steps and additional resources to watch for on the OBD BEAD webpage include:

  • Registration now open for the Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal Virtual Information Session, Thursday August 28 at 11am CST, which will provide an overview of the Final Proposal, steps for public comment, and next steps for BEAD in Minnesota. This webinar will be recorded and posted to the OBD BEAD webpage.
  • The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal will be posted to the OBD BEAD webpage for a 7-day public comment on Thursday August 28. The Final Proposal is due to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) by Friday September 4.
  • Coming soon: OBD will be announcing regional, in-person Final Proposal Information Sessions on the BEAD Final Proposal. These will be scheduled the first week in September, and open to anyone to attend with no registration required. When finalized, dates and logistics will be posted to the OBD BEAD webpage and shared in another email blast.

If you have questions on the webinars or in-person events, please reach out to deed.broadband@state.mn.us.  

The Minnesota Line Extension Connection Program aims to connect residents and businesses that lack access to wired broadband internet service with service providers and assist in the expense of extending broadband to those locations.

Owners of residential and business locations lacking a wired internet connection with access to actual speeds equal to or greater than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, can submit their address location for bid consideration by entering their information into the Line Extension Connection portal to initiate their interest in receiving broadband internet service. Applicants should complete every applicable question including providing additional comments that will help explain the critical need of broadband for the household/business, including any barriers. More information on how to submit an application via portal, phone, or mail is available on the OBD Line Extension Connection webpage.

Broadband events and news

The Minnesota Public Broadband Alliance, member of the American Association for Public Broadband, is offering a free event, What’s Next for Broadband in Minnesota on September 10 at 9am in New Prague, MN.

The even will host featured speakers, Gigi Sohn of the American Association of Public Broadband, Christopher Mitchel of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, and OBD’s Executive Director Bree Maki. More information on the event is available online and registration is open below:

Minnesota broadband was additionally featured:

  • Director Maki was also quoted in an August 6 Star Tribune article, on the impacts of the BEAD program on OBD’s work: “[Minnesota] had this big program that we really thought could maximize the state and federal efforts,” Maki said, “and the timing is just taking a little longer than anticipated.”

Office of Broadband Development and Legislators visit East Central Energy fiber network in Pine City

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The Isanti-Chisago County Star reports…

Officials from the Minnesota Legislature and the Office of Broadband Development joined East Central Energy staff in Pine City on July 17 to observe speed testing and review the progress of the cooperative’s state-supported broadband expansion.

The visit marked a milestone in ECE’s fiber buildout, funded in part by $15 million in grants awarded in December 2022 through the state’s Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program. The project spans Isanti, Kanabec and Pine counties and aims to deliver high-speed fiber internet to 7,584 homes and businesses in some of the region’s most underserved areas.

Sen. Aric Putman, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Broadband and Rural Development, and Rep. Nathan Nelson of District 11B joined the visit. They were accompanied by Bree Maki and Mike Wimmer of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development. The group watched performance testing by Connected Nation, the state’s contracted verifier, which is ensuring the network meets speed and coverage requirements.

Office of Broadband Development Updates: BEAD applications are open

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From the Office of Broadband Development…

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

  • Restructured BEAD Round, grantor portal OPEN
  • Broadband Task Force, August meeting plans
  • Minnesota featured, Bridging the Digital Divide; Planning Innovate State and Local Approaches
  • Line Extension Connection Program

Restructured BEAD Round, grantor portal OPEN

On July 8, 2025 NTIA approved Minnesota’s IP BEAD Correction Letter. This approval allowed OBD to move forward with the updated list of eligible locations (6/30/2025) and open the grantor portal on July 14 for prequalified applicants to submit applications for the Restructured BEAD Round, compliant with the updated changes to the NTIA’s June 6 Restructuring BEAD Policy Notice. The grantor portal will remain open through July 24, 1:30pm CST. 

Register today for the additional office hours session, scheduled Tuesday July 22 at 11am. This session will not be recorded and will be a time to answer questions on the BEAD application.

Access to and resources on the grantor portal are available on the OBD BEAD webpage, including: 

Broadband Task Force, August meeting plans 

The Broadband Task Force will be meeting on Wednesday, August 6 from 2:30-4pm in Redwood County at the Minnesota Farmfest. This meeting will be held in-person and is open to anyone from the public to attend, however, tickets are required to enter Farmfest. Members of the public with questions about attending should email deed.broadband@state.mn.us or call 651-259-7610 no later than Monday July 28. 

More information on this and past meetings can be found on the Broadband Task Force webpage. 

Minnesota featured, Bridging the Digital Divide; Planning Innovate State and Local Approaches 

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s OBD, community partners, internet service providers, and broadband leaders across the state were featured in the newly published, Bridging the Digital Divide in the US Planning Innovative State and Local Approaches. The book presents a multi-level governance framework which explores how local leaders use policy opportunity and community resilience to address inequity in broadband infrastructure, and Chapter 4 presents “Minnesota – An Early Leader In Addressing Rural Broadband” by Y. Edward Guo, Elizabeth H. Redmond, and Mildred E. Warner.   

The book has been made available as an Open Access PDF or e-book and is available for free download.  

Line Extension Connection Program

The Minnesota Line Extension Connection Program aims to connect residents and businesses that lack access to wired broadband internet service with service providers and assist in the expense of extending broadband to those locations.

Owners of residential and business locations lacking a wired internet connection with access to actual speeds equal to or greater than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, can submit their address location for bid consideration by entering their information into the Line Extension Connection portal to initiate their interest in receiving broadband internet service. Applicants should complete every applicable question including providing additional comments that will help explain the critical need of broadband for the household/business, including any barriers. More information on how to submit an application via portal, phone, or mail is available on the OBD Line Extension Connection webpage.

Office of Broadband Development Office Hours July 15: Application Portal is open

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More than 40 people attended the session. You can see the slides, video and notes below.

Notes:

Questions:

On remove eligible locations. Are they removed from the portal or should we upload a new spreadsheet?
For an existing application – you will want to upload and review updated information and make sure it works.

Is there a specific template for Priority Projects?  Where should that documentation be loaded?
It’s part of section 3 and the network form. You’ll want to upload more network info. (Get more info on page 35.)

In 49 section 12 “This project will include required documentation to be reviewed for consideration as a priority project consistent with NTIA Restructuring Policy Guidance” Has MN DEED defined specific required documentation that needs to be uploaded to satisfy this question?
In section 3 – it’s going to be the network components and project schedule, diagram, map…

Can you give a quick update on line extension? How much funding is there? not funded previously still open applications?

No – hopefully next session.

On Q 48, will a new affidavit be required?
If project doesn’t change – no. Otherwise, yes.

The new applications how have an ORG# and application # that is tied to the uploaded documents. ex…ORG123APP1234 Do we need to use a specific naming convention?
no. It will be automatically assigned. But we like it when it’s easy to recognize

Q 49 “This project will include required documentation to be reviewed for consideration as a priority project consistent with NTIA Restructuring Policy Guidance.” can you explain?
It is asking if you want your project to be reviewed as a priority project

What is format (tools) for the “public comment” process? It would be nice to have a broadband stakeholders call.
Final proposal will be posted – and maybe emailed. Will probably do what we did for the original round.

From the Chat:

OBD BEAD webpage for application resources and Required Templates: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/bead/

Stay up to date by signing up for our biweekly email updates at:
mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/contact/

Submit BEAD questions through the BEAD FAQ Submission Form:
https://forms.office.com/g/jE9EC1Zzpv

Email deed.broaband@state.mn.us

 

 

MN has invested $400 million in broadband; federal investment has been more complicated

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KTTC out of Rochester takes a look at the history of federal and state broadband funding in Minnesota…

Between billions of dollars of defaulted rural broadband expansion projects and highly-regulated legislation that bogs down developers, the federal government has not had the most success when it comes to connecting our rural communities with high-speed fiber internet.

To recap what’s currently happening with national broadband assistance: in 2019, the Federal Communications Commission ran the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) which awarded $20 billion in federal assistance to internet service providers (ISPs), roughly $3 billion of which was defaulted on that the government is still trying to get back.

In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) created its own solution for connecting rural communities to the internet through the Broadband, Equity Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program which contained substantially more restrictions and requirements and even conflicted with existing RDOF policies. BEAD was also intended to be run through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) rather than the FCC.

In the aftermath of the billions that have gone into default from the failed RDOF initiative, the FCC has attempted to reclaim some of the misappropriated funds. All in all, roughly $6.4 billion of RDOF funds have actually been used, with the remaining $14 billion up in the air.

The article looks at BEAD…

Also in June, the Trump administration issued a Policy Notice through the NTIA that reforms parts of BEAD’s initial requirements and regulations, removing several sections that dictated multiple aspects of the expansion efforts.

And outlines the more straightforward Minnesota investment…

The federal government aside, since 2014, Minnesota has invested more than $805  $400 million [correction made hours after posting – sorry for the error] across 294 projects, or nearly 113,000 locations, according to a report from the Midwest Economic Policy Institute and are already seeing benefits for farmers and businesses.

Office of Broadband Development Updates: BEAD updates, upcoming meetings, staff changes

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The Office of Broadband Development provides the following updates. I wanted to add just one – and that’s the departure of Hannah Buckland as New Digital Equity Lead. She has found a new home at DEED but unfortunately this is a consequence of the cuts in federal Digital Equity Act funding.

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

  • BEAD updates
  • Broadband in the news
  • Line Extension Connection Program

BEAD updates 

OBD continues to work on following the updated guidance published from NTIA in the June 6, 2025 BEAD Restructuring Policy Notice. Updated documents and additional resources on the OBD BEAD webpage  include:

Upcoming office hours from the OBD have been scheduled for Tuesdays at 11am and will not be recorded unless otherwise noted. Materials from recent sessions can be found on the OBD BEAD webpage. 

Broadband in the news

Organizations continue to publish resources and updates on understanding the federal changes impacting the BEAD and Digital Equity Act (DEA) broadband programs. Some of these resources, as well as additional broadband news, include: 

Line Extension Connection Program

The Minnesota Line Extension Connection Program aims to connect residents and businesses that lack access to wired broadband internet service with service providers and assist in the expense of extending broadband to those locations.

Owners of residential and business locations lacking a wired internet connection with access to actual speeds equal to or greater than 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload, can submit their address location for bid consideration by entering their information into the Line Extension Connection portal to initiate their interest in receiving broadband internet service. Applicants should complete every applicable question including providing additional comments that will help explain the critical need of broadband for the household/business, including any barriers. More information on how to submit an application via portal, phone, or mail is available on the OBD Line Extension Connection webpage.

Federated Broadband Holds Groundbreaking For Martin County Fiber Project

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Explore Okoboji reports...

Federated Broadband officially kicked off mainline construction for its latest Fiber Optic project in rural Martin County with a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday in Welcome.

The project is made possible by a Round 10 Border-to-Border grant, awarded by the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development. It will extend high-speed fiber optic internet services to over 450 households, businesses, and farms in six townships in Martin county.

State Broadband Offices plan to work with BEAD – including MN’s OBD

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Broadband Breakfast reports…

After setting aside “visceral” reactions against the NTIA’s June 6 restructuring policy notice governing the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, state broadband officials Thursday expressed willingness to roll up their sleeves and make it work.

It would be a hard time to be working at a State Broadband Office. So many changes. So many timelines. But last week, the Minnesota Office of sent out a message saying they are moving forward and inviting folks to learn more at their online office hours tomorrow…

OBD is committed to continue our transparency in communications and sharing information and updates as we understand them. We will share this information as it is available on the OBD BEAD webpage, and at a BEAD Office Hours + Information Session, Tuesday June 17 at 11am. Please reach out with any questions or concerns to deed.broadband@state.mn.us.  

OBD Executive Director, Bree Maki, said much the same at the MN Broadband Task Force meeting earlier in the week.

Office of Broadband Development Office Hours: Digital Opportunity Termination Update – BEAD keeps on

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The Office of Broadband Development held their Office Hours as planned. When planned, this meeting was going to talk about the next round of BEAD funding (round 11b) but that is on hold given concerns with federal perspective. Instead, the meeting focused on trying to answer questions and sharing the limited news available.

Notes from the meeting:

Digital Opportunity Termination Update

  • Last Day was May 19, 2025
  • Was $12 million for digital inclusion training
  • MN did create a digital opportunity plan – although it will no longer be funded by the Feds
  • DEED will also terminate the planned network of local experts
  • An FAQ is coming

BEAD Updates

  • Still going through applications
  • It may be several weeks before Round 11B will be announced
  • OBD has been informed of upcoming changes. Feds are looking to streamline and make it more technical – but not certain what that will mean.

Questions

I am hearing wide swings in when folks will get more info – from early June to July – do you have any idea?
We are hearing inconsistencies too.
We have a later final approval date for end of program. We’re still focused on October 3. Other states have earlier final dates. But other states have longer construction seasons.

Can you share more on what you’re seeing with overlapping applications? And what the process will be?
We have multiple applications overlapping in different ways. We want to be good partners – unfortunately, we aren’t sure on what the changes will be so it’s hard to give advice. There has been more overlap than OBD has typically seen in part rounds.

Do you know the timeline?
No but we assume it will take a time. And we may even come back to applicants to ask if they want to make changes or save the proposal for round two (11b)). If you have ideas or concerns, please send them.
In fairness to all of you, there’s a balance we’re trying to meet. We know that you have been working hard as well. We don’t want to dissuade anyone to participate – but we don’t know the changes. And we don’t have a lot of flexibility; we are tied to Volume 2.

It makes sense to not ask providers to make changes without knowing what the Feds are going to make in changes. There were providers who already decided this program was not right for them.

When is the next Office Hour?
The previously scheduled hours have been cancelled. We will schedule more when we know more.