From the Office of Broadband Development…
Updates From the Office of Broadband Development
The following updates are available from the Office of Broadband Development:
- Governor visits BEVCOMM in Blue Earth, MN
- Office of Broadband Development Annual Report submitted
- Governor’s Task Force on Broadband: January meeting recap
- Response to announced wind-down of the ACP funding
- Update: Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Plan
- New Feature: The Digital Opportunity Data Dive
- Congratulations to Jennifer Frost, OBD’s new Grants Supervisor!
- Opportunities with the Office of Broadband Development
- BEAD Challenge – Get prepared
Governor visits BEVCOMM in Blue Earth, MN
Commissioner Matt Varilek visited BEVCOMM in Blue Earth, MN with Governor Tim Walz and Office of Broadband Development Director Maki to discuss the state’s progress expanding broadband access across Minnesota. Since 2014, OBD has delivered over $297 million in grants to connect more than 103,000 homes and businesses to broadband.
BEVCOMM has received a total of over $7 million in grants, with BEVCOMM providing matching funds of over $10 million while passing an estimated 2,393 locations since they started participating in the grant programs in 2015. As one example, the 2020 grant funded project at BEVCOMM in Blue Earth aimed to serve approximately 14 unserved and 94 underserved locations in portions of Rice, Waseca, and Steele counties to improve broadband levels to 1 Gbps symmetrical, exceeding the 2022 and 2026 state speed goals. More information can be found on this project and others on the Office of Broadband Development Grant Program webpage.
A special thanks to Marc Johnson, from East Central Minnesota Educational Cable Cooperative, for hosting and presenting, and Dennis Rice from East Central Energy for presenting on their broadband expansion efforts.
Office of Broadband Development Annual Report Submitted
The 2023 Annual Report was submitted Monday, January 15, 2024 to the state legislature. The Annual Report highlights OBD’s work during the past year, including updates on activities like the Border-to-Border Broadband and Lower Population Density Broadband Infrastructure Grant Programs, Line Extension Connection Grant Program, Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Planning, and the Digital Opportunity Plan.
2023 Milestones include:
- MN Legislature approved an additional $50M each year – FY24 and FY25 for broadband infrastructure and made the Lower Population Density Program permanent (was a pilot program in 2022)
- Opened Grant Round 9 for Border-to-Border and Low Density Broadband Development grant programs
- Welcomed 106 Digital Connection Committees
- The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced Minnesota’s BEAD allocation to be $651,839,368.00
- Submitted Five-year Action Plan, Digital Opportunity Plan and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal Volume 1 and 2 to NTIA
- Certified 2 Telecommuter Forward! Communities
- Updated broadband availability maps in October
The OBD Annual Report 2023 is also available on the Office of Broadband Development website
Governor’s Task Force on Broadband: January meeting recap
The Task Force met in Braham, MN on Thursday January 11th to provide updates on BEAD, the Digital Equity Act, and benefits from the Border-to-Border Broadband Grants and East Central Energy’s Broadband Network and Infrastructure Deployment. The meeting’s agenda and presentation on the Minnesota School Broadband Landscape are posted on the Broadband Task Force webpage, along with minutes from previous Task Force meetings.
Thank you to Task Force members for attending and participating! A special thanks to Marc Johnson for hosting and presenting, and Dennis Rice from East Central Energy for presenting on their broadband expansion efforts!
Response to announced wind-down of the ACP funding
In response to ending the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) funding, which is utilized by more than 238,000 low-income homes in Minnesota, bipartisan support has been expressed through a proposal to extend funding. The ACP Extension Act has also been supported by over 400 organizations across the industry, state, local, and tribal governments, public interest groups, and community-based organizations. Bree Maki, Executive Director signed on to a letter of support for the ACP and OBD is working with congressional delegation for program funding.
The ACP is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program established in 2021 that provides a monthly benefit to eligible households for internet connection. Currently 22 million households are enrolled nationally and receiving the monthly benefit, according to the FCC. The wind-down of this program means notifications will start going out to existing customers next week, new enrollments would stop February 8th 2024, and the anticipated end to the monthly benefit is April 2024.
For updates, visit the FCC’s program webpage
Update: Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Plan
OBD is awaiting NTIA’s full approval of the final plan before its public release, estimated to be sometime this spring. A revised draft was submitted to NTIA on November 21, 2023, and OBD is in the process of preparing further revisions based on NTIA’s recommendations. OBD will continue to provide updates on the approval process and on its future State Digital Equity Capacity Grant as NTIA makes information available.
New Feature: The Digital Opportunity Data Dive
In preparing Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Plan, OBD sifted through heaps of insightful data describing digital disparities in Minnesota. In this new feature to OBD’s newsletter, a different digital opportunity data point will be shared biweekly. Have some numbers you’d like OBD to research? Please contact Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Program Lead, at hannah.buckland@state.mn.us.
Modern elders—which Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Plan describes as individuals 60+ years of age—experience heightened levels of digital inequity. Statewide, 83.7% of Minnesota households have a broadband subscription; this figure drops to 79.6% when looking at households headed by a modern elder. Advanced age stresses this divide. For example, 42.3% of households headed by a person 75+ years of age have a broadband subscription. This pattern continues with device ownership: 16.6% of all modern elders lack a home computer or smartphone compared to 44.2% of modern elders 75+ years of age.
Congratulations to Jennifer Frost, OBD’s new Grants Supervisor!
Congratulations to Jennifer Frost, who took on the new role of Broadband Infrastructure Grants Supervisor with the Office of Broadband Development effective January 17, 2024
Opportunities with the Office of Broadband Development
The OBD Team is hiring! To join us, and learn more, visit the posting, Management Analyst Staff Specialist – Broadband Program Accounting Lead – Job ID 73187 or Apply Here by February 1st, 2024
BEAD Challenge – Get prepared
Tier E License Reminder:
Permissible challengers (units of local government, nonprofits, and broadband service providers) participating in the BEAD challenge process may need to submit challenges using location IDs. To translate street addresses to location IDs, challengers must use the FCC Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric). To access the Fabric, challengers need to sign a “Tier E” license with CostQuest Associates (CQA).
Potential challengers (units of local government, nonprofits, and broadband service providers) should take steps to obtain a Tier E license now, well before the challenge process starts. Please contact CQA at IFAsupport@costquest.com to begin the Tier E process. Additional information about the licensing can be found at CostQuest Licensing.