From the Office of Broadband Development …
Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates
- Minnesota’s BEAD Final Proposal submitted to NTIA
- Broadband Task Force, September monthly meeting
- Line Extension Connection Program update
- Updated guidance on broadband infrastructure development in Tribal Communities
Minnesota’s BEAD Final Proposal submitted to NTIA
As required by the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development (OBD) submitted its Final Draft Proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), including the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, on September 4, 2025. NTIA has committed to review and approve plans in 90 days.
OBD will continue to revise and update the documents as required by NTIA and necessary to ensure all BEAD eligible locations are served as defined by the policy notice.
Deployment and Technology-Type Results
As published in Minnesota’s Draft Final Proposal submitted to NTIA on September 4, 2025:
- Infrastructure/Broadband Deployment: $391,611,699 (an increase from the previously reported posted draft of $381 million)
- Technology Breakdown by Percentage and Location Count:
- Fiber/Coax: 57.7% – 43,339 locations
- Satellite: 24.8% – 18,651 locations
- Fixed Wireless: 17.5% – 13,031 locations
Minnesota’s Draft of the Final Proposal and attachments can be found on the OBD BEAD webpage.
Line Extension Connection Program update
The window for residential and business sign-ups to be included in the bidding for Round 4 of the Line Extension Connection Program has closed. Registration will remain open for future rounds if and as funding is available.
OBD is preparing locations for the 10-day Line Extension Review and Challenge, which is anticipated to run from September 15 to September 24, 2025.
Updates will be posted as the are available to the OBD Line Extension webpage. Questions on Line Extension can be sent to deed.broadband@state.mn.us or (651)-259-7610.
Broadband Task Force, September monthly meeting
The Broadband Task Force will be meeting on Monday, September 22 at 1pm CST. This meeting will be held virtually and is open to anyone from the public to attend. The Teams link to join the meeting will be included as at the top of the meeting agenda, which will be posted along with other information on past meetings on the Broadband Task Force webpage.
Updated guidance on broadband infrastructure development in Tribal Communities
The Department of the Interior Office of the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs updated guidance on Streamlining the Rights-of-Way Application Processes for Broadband Infrastructure Projects Across Indian Trust and Restricted Land. Now, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has seven business days to review an application and notify the Rights-of-Way applicant if any additional information is needed. The new policy also provides guidance on waivers of certain regulatory requirements.
Webinars are being offered to provide information on this new policy, which will be open to Indian Affairs staff, tribal realty staff, federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, Alaska Native corporations, federal partners and industry.
The webinars will be held on:
- Session 1 – Register, Friday – September 12, 2025, at 12 p.m. CST.
- Session 2 – Register, Monday – September 15, 2025, at 12 p.m. CST.
- Session 3 – Register, Thursday – September 18, 2025, at 1 p.m. CST.
Additional information is available on the BIA webpage.