From the Office of Broadband Development…

Updates From the Office of Broadband Development

The following updates are available from the Office of Broadband Development:

• Save the date! Connecting One Minnesota Summit, Tuesday March 12th 2024
• Broadband Infrastructure Cost Gap Analysis
• The Digital Opportunity Data Drive
• ACP wind-down update and resources
• Join the Office of Broadband Development!
• American Connection Corps, 2024-2025 applications available

Save the date! Connecting One Minnesota Summit, Tuesday March 12th 2024

The Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) is hosting a “Celebrating 10 Years of Connecting One Minnesota” event on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. This free, hybrid event will together partners and advocates form across Minnesota. Connecting people to people, people to information, and people to resources in Minnesota is critical to our economic stability and this event will provide an opportunity to discuss ways we can collaborate better. In-person activities will be at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center (6155 Earle Brown Drive Brooklyn Center, MN 55434).More information on the agenda, speakers, and logistics for the event will coming soon!Broadband Infrastructure Cost Gap AnalysisThe Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), through its Office of Broadband Development (OBD), is seeking proposals from qualified responders to produce cost models that estimate the costs to close Minnesota’s broadband infrastructure gap in all unserved and underserved areas of the state, using both wireline and fixed wireless modelling. The contractor shall analyze the costs to deploy fiber (FTTH) and fixed wireless (FW) to all unserved and underserved locations in the state of Minnesota, as defined by MN’s speed goals (100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload) and the BEAD definition (25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload) and build a broadband cost model.For more information on the Broadband Infrastructure Cost Gap Analysis RFP, please visit: https://mn.gov/deed/about/contracts/open-rfp.jsp

The Digital Opportunity Data Drive
In this newsletter feature, a different digital opportunity data point is explored biweekly. Have some numbers you’d like OBD to research? Please contact Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Program Lead, at hannah.buckland@state.mn.us.For people with disabilities, technology—including assistive technology—plays an important role in supporting quality-of-life goals. Some assistive technologies can be incorporated into ordinary internet-enable devices, like laptops and smartphones. For many Minnesotans with disabilities, however, devices can be difficult to obtain. For example, 86.7% of Minnesotans without disabilities have a home computer compared to 74.7% of people with one disability. Compounding disabilities widen this divide further: 11.56% of Minnesotans with one disability lack a computer or smartphone compared to 16.1% of Minnesotans with multiple disabilities.
ACP wind-down update and resourcesThe National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) has launched a webpage with resources to help navigate the current wind-down of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). This includes a timeline, summary of FCC resources, and how ACP participants can be supported during the transition.A bipartisan bill was introduced in congress in January to extend the ACP. According to a White House fact sheet, in Minnesota over 230,000 households are enrolled in the ACP program, saving Minnesotan families $6.9 million monthly on internet.Join the Office of Broadband Development! We are hiring – join our team to work to connect communities, providers, regional support organizations, and state and federal programs with each other and the resources they need to improve broadband access and use in Minnesota.

• Grants Specialist Intermediate or Grant Specialist Senior – Broadband Grants Specialist (73184), apply here through February 8, 2024

• Management Analyst Staff Specialist – Broadband Program Accounting Lead, apply here through February 15, 2024

American Connection Corps, 2024-2025 applications available Applications to apply as a host site are open! The American Connection Corps (ACC) is an AmeriCorps Program that builds local capacity and advances economic prosperity in rural communities and legacy cities across the US. Sites applying for this round would begin hosting AmeriCorps members starting in September 2024.American Connection Corps host organizations must be 501c(3) nonprofits, government entities (local, tribal, or state), or faith-based organizations focused on non-religious activity. To learn more, visit the ACC website.

	All Abilities	No Disability	1 Disability	2+ Disabilities
Laptop or Desktop	82.1%	86.7%	73.6%	65.5%
Smartphone Only	7.0%	8.6%	13.7%	12.6%
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2017–21), from IPUMS.