From the MN Office of Broadband Development…

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

• BEAD Challenge, resources + updates
• Digital Opportunity Update
• OBD, out of office!
• Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, July meeting recap
• Join the Office of Broadband Development!

BEAD Challenge, resources + updates

Information and updates on the federal BEAD program and Challenge process are available on the OBD BEAD webpage. Recent updates include:

• The BEAD Challenge Portal is open and accepting challenges until August 21st! Visit the OBD BEAD webpage for more information on registering for the portal, submitting a challenge, and recordings from BEAD Challenge Weekly Office hours with AppGeo walkthroughs of the portal. Don’t wait until August 21st to submit in case your challenge needs additional information to be valid.
• Reminder: If you are a provider and not registered in the Challenge Portal, you won’t get the automatic notification when locations you reported you served are being challenged. Registered users will also be able to see all open challenges. If the challenger is blank, then it is an area challenge. Certain challenges (not directed towards an ISP – e.g. CAI challenges and enforceable commitments) will land in the Open Rebuttals dashboard and will be visible to all registered users. Registered and non-registered users (a household/business) can enter an address and see on the map if the location is challenged. Under NTIA requirements, only providers, local and tribal governments and non-profits are eligible to challenge.
• Register for the next BEAD Challenge weekly office hours, Thursday August 1st at 2pm here. Office hours will include updates on the Challenge process, a walkthrough of the rebuttal process by AppGeo, and a time for Q+A from eligible challengers and community members.
• The CostQuest NTIA helpdesk will pause distribution of new fabric data requests starting on 7/31/24. CostQuest is doing this to prepare for distribution of the FCC release 06/30/2024, version 5 to the NTIA Fabric license holders. CostQuest anticipates resuming new distribution requests by 8/15/2024.

Digital Opportunity Update

On July 24, NTIA released the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and application materials for the national Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. This $1.25B program is administered entirely by NTIA; OBD cannot apply for or determine awards for this program.

The Competitive Grant Program funds initiatives that ensure communities have the access and skills to participate in the digital world. Eligible applicants include nonprofits, local educational agencies, workforce development organizations, political subdivisions, state instrumentalities, Tribes, and community anchor institutions such as public libraries.

NTIA resources are available, including an FAQ document and program primer. OBD has also updated the chart below to identify high-level information differentiating the Competitive versus Capacity grant programs. OBD will administer the Capacity grant program and must wait for NTIA approval before proceeding.

	DEA Capacity Grants	DEA Competitive Grants
Administering Entity	OBD receives funds from NTIA, then awards to MN-based grantees in alignment with MN’s Digital Opportunity Plan	Grantees nationally compete for funds directly from NTIA in alignment with a future Notice of Funding Opportunity (expected no later than July 26)
Date Applications Open	To be determined by OBD	Expected no later than July 26
Award Amounts	To be determined by OBD	To be determined by NTIA
Match Requirement	To be determined by OBD	Minimum of 10% expected
Period of Performance	To be determined by OBD	4 years from award date

 

OBD, out of office!

In the past month, staff from OBD had the opportunity to attend panels, visit sites working on digital equity and those with Border-to-Border funding.

Pictured above, Bree Maki, Executive Director and Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Lead of OBD were on a panel with U.S. Census Bureau Director Rob Santos sharing how important broadband access and skills are to completing the US Census.

OBD’s Digital Equity team toured the PCs for People St. Paul Recycling Center and Retail Location to learn more about the organization’s mission of ensuring digital equity is a reality for all. As PCs for People expands their work supplying and refurbishing devices nationally, we are proud to have them call Minnesota home. and nationally.

OBD also performed site visits in Winona, MN with Hiawatha Broadband Communications and Dodge and Olmstead Counties with KMTelecoms.

Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, July meeting recap

The Governor’s Task Force met at Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) in Lino Lakes, MN the morning of July 18th. The Task Force was welcomed by Dallas Nustvold, Apprenticeship Director, LIUNA and Adam Hutchens, Marketing Representative, LIUNA. From EducationSuperHighway, Grace Oribamise and Tony Schloss presented on the national non-profit’s mission to close the digital divide for the 17 million households that have access to the Internet but can’t afford to connect. Updates from the Office of Broadband Development were provided on BEAD and Digital Opportunity, as well as a general office update.

Thank you to LIUNA for hosting! Materials from this and previous Task Force meetings are available on the Broadband Task Force webpage.

Join the Office of Broadband Development!

We are hiring – join our team as the Broadband Program Assistant. OBD works 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: Apply by 8/06/2024 here: Broadband Program Assistant – State Program Administrator- Job ID 78643, or Apply Here.