I feel like today’s news is really just an addendum to yesterday’s post (MTA & MREA submit a petition to the MN PUC to suspect LTD Broadband’s ETC designation while considering revocation). The follow up is that a prehearing conference has been set for April 24 and the Institute for Local Self Reliance has submitted a file a notice of appearance.
The Senate agriculture omnibus bill passed through another committee Wednesday with near unanimous bipartisan support.
The Senate Agriculture, Broadband, and Rural Development Committee gave the green light for $100 million to help farmers in greater Minnesota with broadband access, soil health and livestock. …
Some highlights include:
- $100 million to expand broadband access throughout the state.
- $14 million for a grain indemnity fund to protect Minnesota farmers.
- $2 million in soil health equipment grants to help farmers make their farmland more resilient to extreme weather events, retain topsoil, build organic matter, and promote water quality.
- $1 million to support emerging farmers with farm down payment assistance.
- $944,000 in investments to support livestock processing.
- $1.2 million over four years to provide services for beginning and emerging farmers.
The bill now moves to the Senate Finance Committee.
The MN Office of Broadband Development put out a call to get communities involved in preparing a digital equity plan that will lead the state into a place for more equitable technology practices and be submitted to federal funders to help maximize flow of federal funds into the state to support the plan…
If you are interested in helping to shape Minnesota’s digital equity plan, there are three ways you can assist. For now, you can establish a Digital Connection Committee and register it with OBD by March 15, 2023. Many of these committees will be eligible to apply for a mini-grant of up to $4000—those applications are due March 3. Then, beginning April 3, you can use data to tell OBD your community or organization’s digital equity story. You can also join a committee near you and ask how to become involved. Or, once drafted, you can provide feedback on the Digital Equity Plan (approximately late August through late September). Stay up to date on the planning process by visiting OBD’s website.
They recently gave an update on how that push went…
Throughout February and March, OBD received over 90 Digital Connection Committee (DCC) registrations and 70 Assessing Digital Inclusion mini-grant applications. We are thrilled!
DCCs are Minnesota’s strategy for ensuring our state’s digital equity plan truly belongs to Minnesota. Between now and June 30, DCCs can submit data, stories, and other information about local digital inclusion strengths, needs, and goals for inclusion in the plan.
To register a DCC or to see a map (updates coming soon) of committees statewide, visit OBD’s digital inclusion webpage. DCC registrations are accepted on a rolling basis; registrations received by April 7 will be able to participate fully in contributing information for the plan. Please contact Hannah Buckland at hannah.buckland@state.mn.us with any questions.
They got a great response but are they getting all the voices they need?
Thanks to Jason Brazier at Literacy Minnesota for sending me two maps looking at where the local Digital Connection Committees (DCCs) are located and a map that shows digital equity (or inequity) status in each county. (The darker the color the better off the county is with digital equity.)
Map of Digital Equity (left) | Locations of Digital Connection Committees (right)
As you can see, the areas with the greatest need are in counties that do not have local DCCs, which means those communities are likely to be underrepresented. There are 14 counties (listed below) and only three of them are home to a DCC. A glance at the map and scan through the directory list and it’s clear that areas near cities and larger towns (Twin Cities, Duluth, Rochester) or with local colleges (Crookston, Northfield, Mankato) have DCCs. There are DCCs that are defined by subject specialty and span a statewide geography, such as the MN Alliance Boys and Girls Club but that is different level of representation that having the local Boys and Girls Club in Cass County lead the effort.
We are missing voices!
It’s not too late to reach out to the areas and people who aren’t on the list, which is why I’ve listed the target counties below. If they can get registered in the next week, they can participate fully in contributing to the plan. So I’m reaching out to readers to reach out to colleagues, cousins and counterparts in these areas to see if there is a likely leader for this effort. Keep in mind, these are the least connected counties so picking up a phone might be more effective that Tweeting.
Finally, I’m just looking at geography and as a factor because my work focuses on geography. That’s my lens. If your daily lens is different, use it to look at existing DCCs, see who is missing and reach out to them. For example, I don’t see a group that is obviously focused on agriculture, folks with disabilities or people experiencing homelessness. You may see something else. If they aren’t in the room, the planners won’t know what they need.
When last we left our heroes at the PUC, they had decided to continue to move forward looking at revoking LTD Broadband’s ETC designation. Then the prehearing conference was moved from March 6 to March 13, 2023. But as of today there is more news; MTA and MREA are asking the PUC to suspend LTD Broadband’s ETC status while they are under consideration for ETC revocation. It seems to make sense, especially in terms of reducing the chances of replaying the RDOF situation where LTD got exclusive access to federal funds, was disqualified and now those fund will not be invested in Minnesota (at least not in the same way).
Today, the Minnesota Telecom Alliance and Minnesota Rural Electric Association submitted a petition to initiate a proceeding to revoke the expanded eligible telecommunications carrier (“ETC”) designation of LTD Broadband LLC (“LTD”) and deny LTD’s funding certification for 2023. Not all of the documents have been made public (due to trade secrets) but here’s the high level info…
Enclosed via e-Filing, please find the Motion to Certify and the Motion to Suspend ETC Designation (with attachments), including both Public and Highly Confidential Trade Secret versions of the Motion to Suspend and attachments (Declarations of Larry Thompson and Kristine Szabo) on behalf of Minnesota Telecom Alliance and Minnesota Rural Electric Association in the above-entitled docket. Minn. R. 1400.600 provides that, should other parties wish to contest a motion, they must file a written response with the judge and serve copies on all parties, within ten working days after the motion is received.
The Minnesota Telecom Alliance (“MTA”) and Minnesota Rural Electric Association (“MREA”) (“Petitioners”) hereby respectfully request that, pursuant to Minn. R. 1400.7600; the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”):
(1) Certify to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (the “Commission”) both the Stay granted in the Third Prehearing Order dated January 18, 20231 (“Stay Order”) and the Petitioners’ March 29, 2023 Motion to Suspend the Expanded ETC Designation of LTD Broadband LLC (“LTD”) (“Motion to Suspend”), and
(2) Require parties to respond to this Motion to Certify within 10 working days after it is received if they wish to contest this Motion to Certify. 2
Both the Stay Order and Motion to Suspend relate to the effects and ramifications of the Federal Communication Commission’s (“FCC’s”) decision to deny LTD’s long-form application. As the Stay Order recognizes, and as explained below, it would be appropriate for the Commission to address these matters and provide guidance.3
There are more details. And there are public documents available Part 1 Motion to Suspend and Attachments – Public.pdf and Part 2 Motion to Suspend and Attachments – Public.pdf; as well as documents that aren’t available to the public.
As with so many legal documents and arguments, lots of time is spent addressing the formalities that aren’t as important to the average reader, but here’s a section that I think gets to the root of the need…
A final determination by the Commission on the Motion to Suspend would materially advance the ultimate termination of the hearing.
Minnesota Rule 1400.7600(B) directs consideration of:
[W]hether a final determination by the agency on the motion would materially advance the ultimate termination of the hearing….
The Stay Order provides that the contested case hearing process will not resume until the FCC makes a ruling on LTD’s appeal of the denial of its long-form.5 As explained in the Motion to Suspend, deferring action on LTD’s ETC designation until the FCC makes that ruling would expose the over 160,000 Minnesotans in LTD’s Expanded ETC Area to the loss of substantial federal BEAD and Minnesota BTB funding if the FCC Bureau’s decision is reversed, as LTD has
requested. As also explained in the Motion to Suspend, the Commission would not have the time or ability to prevent such a reversal from leading to ineligibility for these funds.
The Stay Order assumed that the Commission could act to correct problems regarding the use of RDOF support after the FCC rules, stating:
In addition, there will be a window, at least six weeks, for the parties in this proceeding to reconvene to decide next steps if the FCC does reverse course.6
Unfortunately, the ineligibility trigger for the BEAD and the Minnesota BTB programs is FCC authorization for RDOF support. There is no provision in the BEAD processes for subsequent corrective action by the Commission if the FCC authorizes RDOF support. This combination leaves Minnesotans in the unserved locations encompassed by LTD’s expanded ETC designation at great risk of the Commission being unable to meet its obligations to protect their interests if the FCC reverses the FCC Bureau decision. Moreover, the mere possibility of reversal will likely discourage potential applicants from seeking BEAD or BTB funding for locations in Expanded
ETC Area.
I used to work a Reference Desk so I know, librarians are the frontline support for nearly everything, especially digital equity. It’s helpful to be as prepared as possible and the National Library of Medicine is offering a class that will help…
Libraries in locations across the United States are beginning to offer their patrons access to telehealth services as a strategy for addressing inequities in digital access to healthcare. This class introduces telehealth, why it’s important, and how it enables people to have greater access to quality healthcare. Explore how different libraries provided patrons in their communities with access to telehealth services. This class will address privacy and ethical concerns, and review the technology and infrastructure needed to launch a successful telehealth program in your library. The class will consist of three one-hour modules. Each module will focus on one of the course objectives, which are:
- Recognize the different approaches/models to providing telehealth access within libraries.
- Describe resources available to the library for Telehealth technology and the role of the library in support of digital skills training for telehealth.
- Address potential ethical and legal concerns in offering telehealth access within libraries.
Date(s): June 12, 2023 – July 12, 2023Platform: MoodleCE Credits: 3.00CE Categories: CHIS Level 2Class Experience Level: BeginnerThis is a National NNLM class.Learn more about this class and find other upcoming instances:
At a time when some service providers are revving up to get funding in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) rural broadband funding program, TDS Telecom President and CEO Jim Butman had a surprising take on it.
The company already has upgraded a large part of its traditional local service territory to fiber broadband but has about 500,000 locations that are served by DSL, including about 200,000 or fewer that do not have service at speeds of 25 Mbps available to them. Those locations would be considered unserved and eligible for BEAD funding.
But Butman is more excited about the possibility of getting funding through an extension to the FCC Universal Service Fund ACAM program to deploy fiber to those locations.
Going for ACAM funds make sense because, they would likely get funding long before BEAD money will hit the streets. Also, there’s the issue of non-competitive areas…
BEAD, he said, “is limited to the non-competitive areas and we just don’t see it.”
And although TDS has been aggressively deploying high-speed broadband outside its home turf, Butman was no more enthusiastic about applying for out-of-region BEAD funding than he was about in-region BEAD.
He did say something that I thought was worth noting for potential community partners…
TDS is quite selective in applying for government funding, however.
The company only applies for funding when it sees an opportunity to generate a minimum internal rate of return, and “if we don’t win, we don’t do it,” Butman said.
The House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee, of which Pursell is Vice Chair, has been given $48 million to work with. She noted that there will be $100 million for the expansion of broadband internet into rural areas that will be part of the Ag budget eventually, but right now it has its own budget line item.
As the chief author of the broadband bill, Pursell expressed some disappointment with the amount that has been allocated, but said it is important to make some sort of investment immediately to get things moving.
“My original bill was for $276 million dollars over two years. The targets came out to less than half of that amount, but it will still be the largest investment Minnesota will have ever made. We’ve been promised funds from the federal government, but because it’s unclear how long it might take to get those funds here, we’re taking action in our state now. We cannot afford to miss another construction season and so we’ll be getting Minnesotans who deserve to be connected to the internet [set up] this year with these funds.”
The omnibus bills will be heard in committees this week and then make their way to the House Floor.
Senator Klobuchar helped lead the pack in the Senate…
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Thune (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to expand broadband access to rural communities. The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act would strengthen funding mechanisms for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF), which promotes universal access to broadband and other telecommunications services. Currently, the USF is primarily funded through landline fees, disproportionately impacting seniors, who are more likely to use landlines than other Americans. …
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Thune (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to expand broadband access to rural communities. The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act would strengthen funding mechanisms for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF), which promotes universal access to broadband and other telecommunications services. Currently, the USF is primarily funded through landline fees, disproportionately impacting seniors, who are more likely to use landlines than other Americans.
US Representative Angie Craig helped lead the pack in the House…
Tuesday, U.S. Representative Angie Craig helped introduce the Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act to reform Federal Communications Commission (FCC) practices and expand broadband access to more rural Minnesotans.
The bill would direct the FCC to modernize the system they use to fund broadband and telecommunications expansion to ensure low-income and rural communities can continue to use the program.
Fierce Telecom spoke with Bree Maki, director of Minnesota Office of Broadband and learned a lot about the challenges of building broadband in Minnesota – a four season state…
Bree Maki, director of Minnesota’s Office of Broadband Development, shared with Fierce some key deployment challenges, including weather and workforce constraints. Weather is particularly a hurdle for building fiber in the ground, as Minnesota has a limited construction season, similar to states like Alaska.
“We have long winters, and we have to wait for the ground to defrost before we can do the construction season,” Maki said, noting there’s not much time between the start of construction and “when snow really starts flying in the fall and the temperatures drop.”
There’s a summary of funding in Minnesota…
Minnesota’s main state funding resource is the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program, established in 2014. Thus far, the program has doled out $230 million to connect over 90,000 Minnesotans, said Maki.
For the 2023 grant round, the state plans to dish out up to $67 million later this spring. The state legislature has proposed $276 million in additional funding for the Border-to-Border program.
In terms of federal dollars, Minnesota is leveraging $30 million from the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) to support its Low-Density Pilot program, which Maki said is similar to the Border-to-Border program “but it allows for some additional cost share percentages, because we know that there is a higher cost at hardest-to-reach areas in the state.”
Another $15 million in CPF funding went towards the state’s Line Extension program.
MinnPost reports on the progress of broadband grant investments (Border to Border grants) at the Minnesota Legislature…
Minnesota lawmakers are planning to spend $100 million to help subsidize infrastructure for high-speed internet, an amount that would be the largest ever one-time state boost in broadband funding but has still drawn a mixed response from developers and local officials who say rural areas are being left behind.
Top DFL leaders announced the $100 million plan on Tuesday at the Capitol as part of an agreement on budget “targets” that will guide spending by legislative committees. Democrats have majorities in the House and Senate and control the governor’s office.
Will it be enough?
Minnesota is waiting for a much larger influx of federal cash to help connect many parts of the state to high speed internet. But even though nearly $1 billion is on its way, a state task force has estimated Minnesota still needs about $426 million to reach its broadband goals.
How close are we?
Minnesota’s current goal for high-speed internet is universal access to wireline service with download speeds of at least 100 Megabits per second and upload speeds of 20 Megabits per second by 2026.
About 88% of households and businesses in the state had access to that level of broadband in October, according to estimates released in a report by the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband. In rural areas, about only 62% have what the state deems to be adequate broadband, an issue that became even more of a problem during the COVID-19 pandemic when many more people were forced to work at home and kids attended school online.
The gap in broadband coverage is because of money.
How much do we need?
State officials estimate it would cost $2.76 billion to serve the 291,000 households and businesses that lack the infrastructure for fast service. It’s an eye-popping price tag, but most of the money would not come from the Minnesota Legislature.
State grants typically require a 50% match from broadband developers or others involved in the project, like city and county governments, meaning the state government is only responsible for half the cost.
Telecompetitor shares good news for some and bad news for others with a recent update on Frontier. The good news, they are upgrading some areas…
Frontier built to 1.2 million locations in 2022 and was originally targeting 1.6 million locations in 2023. But it is now aiming to reach 1.3 million locations this year – an acceleration in absolute terms from 2022 but far below the originally forecast number.
The bad news, it’s not planning to upgrade other areas…
Dixit noted Frontier’s copper customers continue to generation a “decent” amount of cash for the business. He added the operator will see how many of those locations might be supported by BEAD funding. For those that aren’t, it will then be left with a decision to either keep them or divest them in “some sort of asset swap,” he said.
The article makes it clear that Frontier is grooming itself to acquire or be acquired; so keeping copper customers for the cash must plan into that plan…
“We’re large enough to potentially be a consolidator of smaller fiber players,” he stated during a New Street Research investor conference on Tuesday. “We’re also small enough to be consolidated or be acquired by another larger carrier. So, we’ll just have to see how it plays out.”
At this time of year, meetings are always subject to change but here’s what I have seen:
The meeting in hybrid, so you can join online or in person. Yesterday at the MN Broadband Task Force, we heard about the need to get state funding because the big federal funding (BEAD) is not going to cover the costs of getting sufficient broadband to everyone AND because that funding will not be released for several years, which means Minnesota will miss some construction seasons if we don’t get state funding.
Today the MN Senate Committee on Agriculture, Broadband and Rural Development heard the Omnibus bill. There was $100 million for broadband grants; $60 million in the Border to Border grants and $40 million in Low Density Program grants. (The low density grants requires less match from the applicant.)
Here’s the page from the Omnibus spreadsheet:
Today was the final meeting of this iteration of the MN Broadband Task Force. There was a lot of gratitude for everyone involved and a hope that efforts to get broadband broadband to everyone continues. There is a concern that policymaker and community leaders think that the federal funding will provide a fix to everyone. But it’s not enough money and that money is still years away.
Full notes: Continue reading
Sharing an email update from Office of Broadband…
The following updates are available from the Office of Broadband Development:
Are you interested in serving with a group to influence broadband policy in Minnesota? Do you have time to volunteer to serve on a Task Force that will make recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature on digital inclusion and broadband availability across the state? Do you know someone who may be a strong advocate and representative on this topic? The Walz/Flanagan Administration will be making appointments to the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband soon!
The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband was created under Executive Order 19-10 and is a multi-stakeholder body created to advise the executive and legislative branches on broadband policy, including strategies for successfully achieving the state broadband goals, comprehensive assessment of digital inclusion issues and gaps, and strategies for unlocking the benefits of universal access to broadband for all communities in Minnesota. The Task Force consists of fifteen members who are appointed by the Governor and have experience or interest in broadband matters. The members must represent a balance of broadband interests, including: residential and business consumers, local governments, libraries, K-12 and higher education institutions, tribal interests, healthcare, broadband providers, economic development, agriculture, rural development, workforce development, and labor interests. The Task Force meets monthly and submits an annual report no later than December 31 each year. This appointment is through the rest of the current Governor’s Term. To apply, see the instructions below.
To learn more or read the current Task Force’s report, please visit Broadband Task Force / Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (mn.gov).
For questions, contact the Office of Broadband Development at the MN Dept. of Employment and Economic Development at deed.broadband@state.mn.us or by calling 651-259-7610.
Applications should be submitted no later than Monday, April 3, 2023 to receive full consideration.
Visit the Open Positions page.
Scroll down to find the correct Agency/Board/Council.
Choose the correct seat type, and click button that says APPLY
The system will walk you through creating an application profile.
Page 2 of the application will now allow you to attach the following documents:
The Office of Broadband Development at DEED is hiring a Community Development and Special Project Coordinator. Along with access to reliable high speed broadband infrastructure, OBD seeks to ensure every Minnesotan can afford broadband service and has a device and the digital skills needed to use the internet and engage in online digital work, education, and health monitoring. The Community Engagement and Special Project Coordinator will report directly to the Executive Director and support Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and the Digital Equity Program planning statewide. The purpose of this position is to manage the database management, data entry, file preparation and drafting of documents for the two plans. This position will also provide coordination to the Office of Broadband in community engagement, participate in community events and educational presentations, promotion, and coordination of events with members of the OBD team.
Here is the link to the posting. Please share with anyone you think would be a good candidate: Planner Senior State – Community Engagement and Special Project Coordinator – Job ID 64231, or Apply Here.
Challenges to the Border-to-Border Grant applications submitted by March 2, 2023 are due no later than 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. There is a Form to use to submit a challenge: 2023 Challenge Form When completed, email the Challenge Form to deed.broadband@state.mn.us
For those who apply for DNR utility licenses to cross state lands or public waters: you’re invited to attend the Utility License Application Workshop presented by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lands and Minerals Division.
The DNR is holding two online Utility License Application Workshops. Please register and attend whichever session is most convenient for you.
Event description:
Webex will provide an online platform for the presentation. This course is optional and free, but registration is required. The workshop offers an opportunity to expand your knowledge on the state’s utility license application process and learn how to submit a complete application to obtain a license from the DNR for the passage of any utility crossing over, under, or across any state land or public water.
Event details: Option #1: Wednesday, April 5, 1– 3:00 p.m. Register
Option #2: Wednesday, April 12, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Register
Once you complete the short registration form, you’ll receive a confirmation email with the link to join the webinar. Please mark those in your inbox for quick event access.
The DNR Lands and Minerals Division is responsible for granting permission to companies that propose to cross state land or public waters with utility infrastructure projects. Please visit the Utility Crossing License webpage for more information.
Just a reminder that the portal for the Line Extension Connection program is available for those in homes and businesses without a wired broadband service of at least 25Mbps download and 3Mbps upload at their location. Eligible addresses will be provided to broadband providers to see if any want to bid through a reverse auction process to serve any of those addresses. Bids selected will qualify for a state grant to help offset construction costs. More information, and the portal to register your address, are available here: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/extension/
Throughout February and March, OBD received over 90 Digital Connection Committee (DCC) registrations and 70 Assessing Digital Inclusion mini-grant applications. We are thrilled!
DCCs are Minnesota’s strategy for ensuring our state’s digital equity plan truly belongs to Minnesota. Between now and June 30, DCCs can submit data, stories, and other information about local digital inclusion strengths, needs, and goals for inclusion in the plan.
To register a DCC or to see a map (updates coming soon) of committees statewide, visit OBD’s digital inclusion webpage. DCC registrations are accepted on a rolling basis; registrations received by April 7 will be able to participate fully in contributing information for the plan. Please contact Hannah Buckland at hannah.buckland@state.mn.us with any questions.
Blandin on Broadband 