OBD Office Hours Jan 28, 2025: The BEAD Prequalification Portal is Open

Posted on by

The big news is that the Prequalification Portal is now open. We got a tour of the portal (video below) otherwise I’m sharing the PPT slides, questions and links from the chat.

Prequalification portal access & user guide: mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/bead/. If you have any technical questions on the portal, please email mnhelpdesk@ready.net.

Resources continue to be added to this webpage, including:

Access updated BEAD FAQs here: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/bead/#4. If you have a question about the BEAD program in Minnesota, please email those to deed.broadband@state.msn.us.

  • Questions
  • Are the BEAD eligible locations based off of BDC Vol. 4 data?
    Yes
  • How long does it take for OBD to process and to receive the email?
    Registrations should be reviewed within 24 hours (not including weekend submissions).
  • What time will the portal close on Feb 27?
    Midnight
  • Is there a preferred format for submitting any of the documents?
  • Thank you for including the Vol 2 page references with the questions! That’s a great resource.
  • How long will applicants have to respond to revision requests?
    24-48 hours because OBD also has a fast turnaround.
  • Once one teammate is added, can that new teammate add additional teammates, or does the original registrant need to add all the additional teammates?
    yes
  • Do you need to fill out the Organization Profile before completing the Pre-Qualification?
  • If CostQuest is telling us we need to pay for data in counties outside of where we have existing services available, who can we contact for assistance?
    I will forward your contact information to our contact at Costquest.
  • Any idea how the federal funding pause in effect at 5 pm today will affect MN BEAD?
    Not at this time. We are waiting for guidance.
  • Did I hear correctly that the application window is planned for March 10th?
  • Is there a cut off Day for pre-qualification…30 days is mentioned…
    Feb 28
  • Broadly speaking….with the priority to get service to unserved locations do you have any thoughts on applications in round 11A that would be an equal mix of unserved and underserved locations?
    File as what needs to happen to make your project most feasible.

Leave a Reply