From the Office of Broadband Development…
Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates
- Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) updates
- NTIA funding opportunities on Tribal Lands and broadband news
- Broadband Task Force, June meeting recap
- Line Extension Connection Program, registration open for residents and businesses
Thank you to the National Tribal Telecommunications Association (NTTA) for welcoming Office of Broadband Executive Director, Bree Maki, to present alongside Minnesota Telecom Alliance’s President/CEO, Brent Christensen at the 2026 NTTA Midwest Regional Tribal Broadband Summit last week!
Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) updates
Minnesota continues to advance the federal BEAD program forward with steady, thoughtful progress through pre-contracting. As contracts are signed, the projects will be reflected on the dashboard, and progress will be able to be monitored on the Minnesota BEAD map.
- A webinar for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program will be held Wednesday July 8 at 11 a.m. CT. for the Broadband Development Training Series: Navigating PLUS (Permitting, Land Use, and State Systems). The session agenda is posted on the OBD Webinars and Recorded Events webpage under the “Broadband Development Training series” toggle. No registration required and the Teams link to join the session will be included on the agenda.
- Reminder: Updated guidance was released June 16 from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the updated FAQ Version 22 is available on NTIA’s webpage.
Additional information and resources will continue to be posted and updated on OBD BEAD’s webpage ensuring partners have ongoing access to the latest program developments.
NTIA funding opportunities on Tribal Lands and broadband news
- On June 17, 2026, NTIA Announced Two New Funding Opportunities to Expand Broadband Connectivity on Tribal Lands. Applications are due September 17, 2026. More information is available on NTIA’s BroadbandUSA webpage including the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) fact sheet and Native Entity Grant Program (NEGP) fact sheet.
- From The Pew Charitable Trusts, States Must Consider Future of Broadband Offices and How States Can Address Broadband Worker Shortages.
Broadband Task Force, June meeting recap
The Broadband Task Force met virtually on Thursday June 18 and heard a panel presentation from Mediacom’s Christopher Lord, Sr. Director, Government Partnership Opportunities and Nuvera’s Kathy Lund, Vice President of Technical Services on experiences so far with the federal BEAD program, particularly challenges in the application process, activities for pre-contracting, and what has has worked well in Minnesota so far. The Office of Broadband Development’s Jennifer Frost and Megan Messerole presented general BEAD program and environmental permitting updates in addition to regular updates from OBD’s Executive Director, Bree Maki.
An overview was provided by the Mayo Clinic Housing-Based Socioeconomic Status (HOUSES) Program of the HOUSES Index, a tool developed to provide individual-level socioeconomic measure with relevancy to broadband and exploration of potential benefits from collaboration from experts Dr. Young Juhn, Dr. Chung Wi, and Dale Shim.
Information on past and upcoming meetings can be found on the Broadband Task Force webpage.
Line Extension Connection Program, registration open for residents and businesses
Registration remains open for residents and businesses for future rounds of the Line Extension Connection Program. For assistance completing the application or to request a paper form to complete, please call 651-259-7610 or email DEED.broadband@state.mn.us.
OBD expects to announce a sixth round of the program with standard timelines using state funds later in 2026.
More information and registration are available on the Line Extension Connection Program webpage.