The Minnesota Broadband Task Force met today. They got an update from the Office of Broadband Development on the BEAD process. Pew reinforced those comments with a national/research background. Two important messages: submit public comments on the Initial Proposals if you have them and be prepared for the mapping challenge process. Only addressed deemed un/underserved by BEAD will be eligible for funding

Full notes

Welcome and Introductions – Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband

Introductions and Comments from Task Force Members not at last meeting

• Melisa Wolf – MN Cable Association – before that MidCo. Worked with government relations. Next 4 years should be pivotal.
• Brianna Mumme – MAPSED – Economic Developer worked with local communities to get better broadband

Minnesota Association of Townships – Jeff Krueger, Executive Director, Minnesota Association of Townships

A welcome from the association. MN has 1800 townships. We support and represent those townships. About 1 million people live in townships. We are interested in broadband as an economic development tool. Our members are small and contained by lack of adequate broadband access.
Broadband has been a hot topic for many years. People ask about it constantly.

NTIA Update – Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth

MN has $652M for broadband, which will be distributed by the Office of Broadband Development.
MN has released their Initial Proposal. The Public is invited to comment by Dec 12; the final proposal is due Dec 27.

Minnesota is in a good position because we’ve been doing grants for a few years. But this is a new challenge. There will be differences between BEAD, Border to Border and Line Extension.

The Initial Proposal is the opportunity for Minnesota tell NTIA how we’re going to do it.

Public comments are encouraged! We need to make sure that NTIA/OBD are good stewards of the money.

Q: Letter of credit … is there a mechanism within NOFO to say there we have grants to meet our needs?
Yes – but that’s for match. And match is a good thing.
OBD needs to know where money is coming from. There are state and federal rules on what percentage of budget can be grants and from where.

Q: Can federal grants be used for match?
Depends on the grant itself. ARPA cannot be used for match.

Update – Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development and Diane Wells, Deputy Director, Office of Broadband Development

Posted Five Year Plan
Worked on Initial Proposal (vol 1 and 2) – it’s posted now and public comments are welcome until Dec 12
We have tried to incorporate as much of the Border to Border grant process as possible.
There are two webinars scheduled for folks who want to learn more.
We’ve have 4-5 comments so far. (One was “you should prioritize fiber.”)
Once vol 1 is approved, OBD can open up the challenge process. We’re hoping that will happen in Q1 2024. Organizations can submit challenges. Sounds like individuals can as well.
BEAD challenge defines who in MN will be eligible to get BEAD funding.
Once vol 2 is approved, OBD has 360 days to start subgrantees selection
Hoping to do 3 grant rounds.
We could potentially see construction in 2025. But we’re having issues with licensing and other issues. But that would be aggressive.
The feds have not always made their deadlines – so that may be a factor.
There are 4 years to construct.

Q: Latency can be an issue for challenge – what would make that happen?
The need to submit a challenge with documentation. Three speed tests at three different times.
Providers have 30 days to refute.

Q: How much should we be pushing our people to do this?
We are saying fixed wireless and DSL don’t count. (In the draft.)

Other orgs are involved in the process. We are trying to have conversation with partners and potential partners.
Each sort of funding has different rules, we are trying to mitigate that.
We are trying to get more legal support to help with proposals.

Digital Opportunity Update –   Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development and Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Program Lead

MN got $900,000 for digital equity planning – through Feb 2024.
OBD has submitted the Digital Equity Plan.
304 people attended the digital equity sessions; 66 written comments on the proposal.
Trying to beef up agriculture, public access TV and support for folks who may deserve grants but don’t have bandwidth to write proposals.
Waiting to hear about capacity grant.

OBD knows applying for grants is hard so making an attempt to do more noncompetitive grants.
Right now there is a lack of funding.
Maybe the Task Force can convince the Legislature that we need to fund digital equity unless or until secured funding comes.

Welcome –  Matt Varilek, Commissioner, Department of Employment and Economic Development

Let’s give a nod to the folks who don’t have enough broadband to participate in a remote meeting.
Thanks to the Blandin Foundation for their work in broadband.

Presentation from PEW – Kathryn de Wit, Project Director, Broadband Access Initiative – The Pew Charitable Trusts

States need the most updated info on mapping – so participate in the challenge process if you are un/underserved and the maps do not reflect that.

ACP is improving access. Providers need ACP.

Individuals cannot flag unserved areas but some states are creating portals for residents to report issues.

There might be opportunities to use the Legislature to effect change. This is a process still in the making.

Q: Measurable outcomes are important. Legislatures focus on their districts. Folks want to know when we are going to be done. Broadband goals change. Where do you see Pew help us tell the story of need in MN?
We are having those conversations. We are working with MI State on more research on how we measure local impact. We could establish benchmarks and baselines.

We understand that BEAD money is not sufficient

Q: Do you know how much state ARPA money has been spent on broadband
$7 billion
Many states didn’t have a program to lean on.

Office of Broadband Development Updates

New hires happening and opportunities out there.
Deadline for border to border grants is Dec 7.
We have another $50M to spend but can’t do that until July 1 because it’s part of the biennium.
Sounds like there might be a chance for supplemental funding from the Legislature.

Sub Group Discussion

Possible topics:

• Affordability and Digital Equity
• Mapping, Funding & Policy
• Economic Opportunity

Folks can indicate an interest in a topic before the next meeting.

Final Comments

• Should we organize to get ready to ask/support the Legislature for more money for OBD?
  Not yet
• We should think about weather.
• Q: Could we talk about the challenge process in January?
  Q: Can use Line Extension data to help?