From the Office of Broadband Development…
Office of Broadband Development’s April weekly webinar series, wrapping up
Register for the final session of the Broadband Development Tuesday Training Series: Navigating PLUS (Permitting, Land Use, and State Systems).
This final session will be Tuesday April 30th, 10-11:30am. In this training, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will cover information on the utility license application and process.
Content from the series will be recorded and posted to the Office of Broadband Development’s webpage.
Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, April meeting recap
The Governor’s Broadband ask Force was hosted by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa at the Black Bear Casino Resort on Thursday April 11th. Band leaders spoke on and shared experiences with Broadband funding and access, updates were shared on BEAD and Digital Opportunity, and the Task Force continued discussion on the current legislative session. Materials from the meeting are available on the Broadband Task Force webpage.
A special thank you to those who hosted and shared at the meeting: Kevin Dupuis, Chairman, Fond du Lac Band; Jason Hollinday, Planning Director, Fond du Lac Band; Caleb Dunlap, Communications Director, Fond du Lac Band; and Marcia Dupuis, Business Manager, Fond du Lac Band; and Task Force Member Brian Hood, Operations Manager, Fond du Lac Communications.
Border-to-Border and Low-Density applications due May 10th
With $30 million available for Border-to-Border (B2B) grants and the remaining $20 million for the Lower Population Density (Low-Density) grants, DEED opened the application window for the tenth grant round on March 12, 2024. Applications are due by 1:30 p.m. Central Time on May 10, 2024.
More information, including an updated Round 10 FAQ, can be found on OBD’s Broadband Grant Program webpage.
Line Extension Round Two Awards
OBD announced the second round of Line Extension Connection Program awards on a rolling basis beginning March 29, 2024, and ending April 22, 2024. The program awarded $3,584,040.13 to expand wired broadband service delivering at least 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload, to 482 locations across 25 counties. Internet providers carrying out the projects matched $1,490,990.67 for a total investment of $5,075,030.80. Find more on the round two awards and the Line Extension program on the Line Extension webpage.