The MN Broadband Task Force met at Black Bear Casino (near Fond du Lac reservation) and online today. There was a lot of talk about federal and state funding and where the Office of Broadband is in process of each.
There was also a brief discussion on bills being discussed in the Legislature now (SF4262/HF4182, SF4742/HF4659 and SF4826/HF4626). It sounds like a subcommittee wrote a letter to legislators about the bills (or maybe bill) and now Senator Putnam wants to meet with the Task Force next Thursday (April 18 from 2-3pm). The Office of Broadband Development is going to email Task Force members surveys (of a sort) to get their views on the various bills, they will analyze the information and report back to members in time for that meeting.
10:00 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Welcome and Introductions – Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
10:05 a.m. – 10:10 a.m. Approval of minutes from March 20th and the April 3rd Task – Force Meetings
10:10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Not funding ACP will have on Broadband subscribers on the reservations – Brian Hood, Operations Manager, Fond du Lac Communications
Update/history on broadband in Fond du Lac reservation from Jason Hollinday.
Fred Underwood found ways to get funding for FTTH and Blandin Foundation
Did survey with Blandin Foundation and working with MIRC and BBC
Got federal tribal grant
Formed their own telephone company (ETC)
Helped hugely during COVID
We weren’t able to collaborate as much as we wanted because of the wording of the funding. We wanted to share with neighbors beyond the reservation.
We are continually looking for ways to work with others and we being unique tools to the table including a different rule book.
10:30 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. BEAD Scoring rubric/Updated plan highlights with Diane Wells, Deputy Director, Office of Broadband Development and Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development
Question: Do we know which FCC map will be used?
Hoping it’s 3 it will be most recent map before getting approval.
11:00 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. Break
10:50 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Digital Opportunity Update
Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Program Lead
Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development
Digital Equity Plan was approved.
Capacity grant was opened. MN allocation is $12 million. Application is due in a month.
$12 million is half of what was expected. More opportunities will happen in the future. The scaled funding will make staffing difficult.
ACP is ending in May. In April, recipients will get funding. In May, the subsidy will be drastically reduced.
We are looking at ways to add changes to Digital Equity Plan for training.
Question:
Is there a plan to get more money?
Working on it – might be funding we can get through the State.
11:10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Broadband Overview
Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development
Doing a weekly webinar series
Hired a new person – state & federal grant experience in St Cloud
Grant Round 10 is open – $50 million. Deadline is May 10 at 1pm.
Line Extension – accepting applications now, will be posting open addresses soon. Round 2 had $53 million go out; average grant was $8,000. This next round average is $11,000.
Question:
Will this info be made available in writing?
Will put info in the minutes for members.
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Legislature Discussion Update – Current Volume
Darielle Dannen, State Program Admin Manager
Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer, US Department of Commerce, NTIA
Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development
Diane Wells, Deputy Director, Office of Broadband Development
The Task Force wrote a letter to send to the legislators. Apparently there’s a subcommittee doing this work.
OBD is going to survey Task Force member on their views of various bills and create an analysis. Want responses by Tuesday. That info will be used to prepare folks for the meeting with Sea
Senator Putnam wants to meet with the Task Force – Thursday. Sounds like that’s only open to the Task Force members. Between 2-3pm Senate building
Updates on bills:
Up in the air at the moment
Questions:
Can public meet with Senator too?
Because the Task Force is a public body, they should be able to.
Is the letter sent to the legislators available online?
12:00 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. Sub-Group Discussion
Not discussed.
12:15 p.m. – 12:20 p.m. Public Comment, Other Business, May 15th Meeting Plans, Wrap-up
Register today: Weekly webinar series kicks off in April from OBD
DEED leaders recognized for work in broadband, congratulations Kevin McKinnon and Diane Wells
Digital Opportunity Data Dive
Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, March meeting recap
Weekly webinar series kicks off in April from the Office of Broadband Development
Register today for the Broadband Development Tuesday Training Series: Navigating PLUS (Permitting, Land Use, and State Systems).
This series will take place Tuesdays in April, 10-11:30am. Agency experts will provide an overview of their agency, and information on current processes, timelines, goals, and best practices working on broadband projects and with broadband grantees.
DEED leaders recognized for work in broadband, congratulations Kevin McKinnon and Diane Wells!
Deputy Commissioner of Economic Development, Kevin McKinnon and Deputy Director of the Office of Broadband Development Diane Wells were recently honored by the Minnesota Telecom Alliance at their Annual Conference with the Friend of the Industry Award for their service and commitment to broadband access and deployment in Minnesota. Both have been part of this work at DEED since the office was created 10 years ago! In the past, this award was given to lawmakers who championed this work, and it hasn’t been given out for 15 years, so congratulations to Kevin and Diane on this significant honor!
MTA Board of Directors Chair Terry Nelson, OBD Deputy Director Diane Wells, and MTA President/CEO Brent Christensen
The Digital Opportunity Data Drive
Public libraries—and their knowledgeable staff—are essential partners in digital inclusion work. Statewide as of 2022, Minnesota has 359 public library locations, 358 of which offer public Wi-Fi. Their combined total of 4,921 public computersand devices saw 1,749,819 patron uses in 2022, up from 1,236,941 in 2021. Further in-depth public library statistics are available through the MN Department of Education.
The digital inclusion work done daily by library staff is complemented by Minitex, a state-funded library organization. Minitex’s resources and services—available to anyone with an internet connection in Minnesota’s geography—include the extensive databases in eLibrary Minnesota, historical and cultural heritage materials through Minnesota Digital Library, and the AskMN 24/7 online reference service. Minitex also offers continuing education for librarians and educators in all these resources and more.
Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, March meeting recap
The Task Force met at DEED headquarters in St. Paul, MN on Wednesday March 20th for an overview on 2024 Legislative Session Broadband Bills, to hear updates on BEAD and Digital Opportunity, and to learn about the American Connection Project from Taylor Stuckert, the Executive Director of the American Connection Corps. The agenda is available, as are minutes from previous Task Force meetings on the Broadband Task Force webpage.
Today the Office of Broadband Development presented to MN House Agriculture Finance and Policy Committee. You can download the slides so I didn’t take a lot of notes on the presentation. (Also, it gets tough to video with one hand and type with the other.) But I did take notes on the questions. It’s always interesting to learn what the legislators are thinking and where there might be opportunities for learning more about broadband.
Questions –
Are we required to adhere to fair wage regulations?
no
Are installers qualified and unionized?
OBD does not regulate but we do pay attention.
Can we get more on line extension? How close
It varies. It might be new build. Former owner may have turned down earlier opportunities.
What is impact of inflation?
we are looking into that because there is concern that there won’t be enough money to meet our goals.
What is licensed fixed wireless?
We are agnostic for technologies. Feds consider fixed wireless to be broadband. We may need to resort to satellite if there are no providers interested in serving the area. We are looking to long time solutions.
Do you keep track of outages?
no. We don’t regulate or track.
Who oversees false claims of broadband speeds?
We do not but we do offer speed tests. We are asking the feds to put onus for testing on providers. Department of Commerce would oversee such issues.
Who applies for grants?
A variety of providers. Minnesota is lucky in the number of options.
The MN Broadband Task Force met today. They heard from economic developers and about the legislative process. A recurring theme is BEAD funding and how can we prepare to optimize funding especially in areas that need it. An answer that prompts more questions is the BEAD challenge process. We did learn that Minnesota will be working with the consultants who also work with Washington State and Missouri. So they may offer some ideas. (It looks as if the Missouri challenge map isn’t up yet. I will look at both when I can.) The next Task Force meeting has been move to March 20.
10:00 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Welcome and Introductions, Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
10:05 a.m. – 10:10 a.m. Approval of minutes from January 11th Task Force Meeting
10:10 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. Highlight AMC and the counties Legislative platforms Nathan Zacharias, Technology Policy AnalystContinue reading →
Governor Tim Walz will be in southern Minnesota to talk about the state’s progress of expanding broadband access to tens of thousands of Minnesotans.
Over the last year, the state has provided enough funding to grow broadband to 46,000 homes and businesses that didn’t previously have access.
He will be visiting a broadband provider in Blue Earth at 11 a.m. Thursday.
It seems unusual as the MN Broadband Task Force is meeting today from 10am to noon in Braham. I will plan to attend and livestream the Task Force meeting remotely. I’ll try to keep an eye on the other meeting as well.
I plan to attend remotely and will archive the meeting. Here’s the information on the meeting from the Office of Broadband Development…
Governor’s Task Force on Broadband Thursday, January 11, 2024
10:00 a.m. – 12:35 p.m.
Braham Area High School (ECMECC)
Room B-100
531 Elmhurst Avenue South
Braham, MN 55006
OR
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Click here to join the meeting
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10:00 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
10:05 a.m. – 10:10 a.m. Approval of minutes from September 19 and November 30 Task Force Meetings
The Minnesota Broadband Task Force meets monthly to work on an annual report of updates and recommendations to the Governor and Legislature. According to the OBD website…
The Task Force will consist of 15 members, with the Governor appointing one member to serve as chair. The Task Force is charged with creating an annual report to be issued by December 31 each year. The report will address areas such as: the needs, barriers, issues and goals for broadband access; the needs and use of broadband in various sectors; digital inclusion definitions and the benefits, needs and strategies for addressing identified gaps; availability and accessibility for unserved and underserved populations; advances in broadband technology; opportunities to coordinate with other levels of government; and continued review of the adequacy and appropriateness of the broadband goals.
The meetings have been hybrid lately where some folks meet in person and others join online (via Teams). All are welcome. I attend and archive the meetings on the blog after the fact. Here are the dates for 2024:
The Minnesota Broadband Task Force met today. They got an update from the Office of Broadband Development on the BEAD process. Pew reinforced those comments with a national/research background. Two important messages: submit public comments on the Initial Proposals if you have them and be prepared for the mapping challenge process. Only addressed deemed un/underserved by BEAD will be eligible for funding
10:00 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Welcome and Introductions – Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
10:05 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Introductions and Comments from Task Force Members not at last meeting
10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Minnesota Association of Townships – Jeff Krueger, Executive Director, Minnesota Association of Townships
10:30 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. NTIA Update – Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth
10:40 a.m. – 10:50 a.m. BEAD Update – Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development and Diane Wells, Deputy Director, Office of Broadband Development
10:50 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Digital Opportunity Update – Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development and Hannah Buckland, Digital Equity Program Lead
11:00 a.m. – 11:10 a.m. Break
11:10 a.m. – 11:20 a.m. Welcome – Matt Varilek, Commissioner, Department of Employment and Economic Development
11:20 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Presentation from PEW – Kathryn de Wit, Project Director, Broadband Access Initiative – The Pew Charitable Trusts
11:50 a.m. – 12:05 p.m. Broadband Overview – Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development
12:05 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Sub-Group Discussion
12:30 p.m. – 12:35 p.m. Public Comment, Other Business, January 11th Meeting Plans, Wrap-up
According to the Secretary of State’s website, there are two open seats on the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband. Here are more details…
Membership
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.
Entity Powers and Duties, Activity Summary
To research, recommend, and promote state broadband policy, planning, and initiatives that address state broadband needs and goals. Create an annual report due no later than December 31 each year which includes an inventory and assessment of needs, barriers, issues and goals for broadband access; needs and use of broadband in Minnesota’s education, health care, agriculture, energy, industry and business, library, government, tribal, public safety and other key economic sectors; digital inclusion definitions; broadband availability and accessibility for unserved and underserved populations; advances in broadband technologies; opportunities to coordinate with federal, state and local agencies; and a review of continued adequacy and appropriateness of the existing statutory broadband goals.
They meet monthly. They had been meeting entirely online through COVID. It seems as if they are working on a hybrid solution moving forward. I record the meetings, if you want to get a preview of what they are like.
Over the weekend, I had a chance to read through the Five Year Broadband Action Plan created by the MN Office of Broadband Development as part of the BEAD process. (It’s a precursor of sorts to the Initial Proposal due in December 2023.) At the highest level, it seems to say that Minnesota, through the Office of Broadband Development, is well poised to administer the BEAD money because they have been doing it for a long time. If this were a resume, I’m pretty sure we’d get the job.
They outline the current situation:
The FCC data identified 134,850 unserved locations (lack broadband service of at least 25Mbps download/3Mbps upload by a wired or licensed fixed wireless service). That total includes 7,067 locations determined to be high cost for deploying broadband.
Minnesota’s most recent data (as of 12/31/2022) identified 152,000 unserved locations without a wired broadband service delivering speeds of at least 25Mbps download/3Mbps upload (shown in pink on above map) and 229,000 underserved locations without a wired broadband service delivering speeds of at least 100Mbps download/20Mbps upload (total of pink and purple on above map). Minnesota statutes identify locations without a wired service of at least 100/20 as eligible for broadband grant funding, thus for purposes of determining grant eligibility, OBD focuses on those areas lacking a wired broadband service.
The highlight points of synchronicity…
Minnesota’s statutory goals directly align with those of the BEAD program, prioritizing the deployment of broadband infrastructure to locations that are unserved, then deploying infrastructure to locations that are underserved.
And there’s a plan to update the estimated costs to securing universal access in MN at speeds of 100/20
The cost estimate to achieve universal broadband service in Minnesota is under development. In the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband’s Annual Report for 2022, the estimate necessary for achieving full coverage was $2,764,500,000, using a cost per passing of $9,500 and the number of homes without broadband service of at least 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload as 291,000. The cost share attributable to provider/community match was then factored in at both 50 percent and 75 percent. The result was the need for public funding of $1,382,250,000 with a 50 percent match and $2,073,375,000 with a 75 percent match. Amounts calculated to be received from ARPA CPF, ReConnect 3, RDOF, NTIA Tribal awards, BEAD, and Federal Direct Appropriations were then factored in.
Prior to the submission of the Initial Proposal, OBD will do additional work to calculate a more accurate cost per passing by reviewing the results of our two most recent grant rounds (including the first round of our Lower Population Density Program), reviewing any data available from CostQuest, examining factors that would increase costs in various geographies of Minnesota, using NTIA’s toolkit, and discussing with providers serving in the various regions of the state.
They also highlight the barriers to getting broadband to everyone. Funding is the big one:
Funding—despite the eight broadband infrastructure grant rounds funded and administered in Minnesota, awarding over $280M, and two additional state funded grant rounds totaling $100M anticipated in the next year, even with the BEAD allocation, Minnesota expects to be short funds to improve broadband speeds and reliability to all currently unserved and underserved locations. The most recent grant round saw funding requests at three times funding availability.
The weather, uncertainty, supply chain are other issues. There is also Minnesota communities’ preference for fiber:
Community based support and communities generally want fiber—in Minnesota, high speed broadband generally means fiber when speaking with communities. If the once-in-a-lifetime infusion of funding for broadband deployment is going to serve as the permanent solution for a community’s broadband needs, then most every community wants that solution to be fiber. In most grant applications OBD has seen since 2014, fiber projects predominate.
There will always be a place for wireless broadband, but I think the focus on fiber is as result of Minnesota’s communities’ experience learning about broadband since 2010 (even before!). This is an area where it’s nice to see Minnesota offer its experience to expect/ask the most from the federal funding.
Another barrier is the mapping situation:
CostQuest license barriers–OBD and its mapping partner are working through the licensing requirements of the CostQuest license to continue the Minnesota map which is familiar to our residents, businesses and providers. Hopefully the data can be as transparent as prior maps, but that remains to be determined.
Minnesota is slated to get about $650 million for broadband through BEAD. That isn’t going to change and as stated above, it might not be enough, subsequently accurate maps are going to be key to equitable investment. Minnesota has been mapping broadband for many years. The maps have been created with data provided by providers but residents have always had the opportunity to run a speed text and report any discrepancies to OBD. I have heard that mapping challenges are not as straightforward for the FCC maps, especially for aggregate challenge options. Maybe this is another area where Minnesota’s expertise can shine.
This is the fist meeting of the new iteration of the MN Broadband Task Force. It feels a lot like the first day of school. Lots of introductions and talks about how things happen, rules and a basic history of what’s happened in the past and goals moving forward. There’s a practical lesson on how the MN Legislature works.
Sounds like there’s no plan for a report in 2023 but that the Task Force might just submit a letter with recommendations.
Task Force members present introduced themselves. I didn’t include a lot of bio information but I did provide links when I could. I did take note of why folks have joined the Task Force.
Tewodros (Teddy) Bekele (Senior VP/CTO, Land O’Lakes) – how do we get technology in the hands of out members? Can we get MN to 100 percent covered? 25/3 is probably achievable – but 100/20 is even better. Lack of broadband stops progress.
Marc Johnson (Executive Director, East Central Minnesota Educational Cable Cooperative) – I’m here for education. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. This is my second term on the Task Force. There’s unfinished business. We need to serve everyone with education and ubiquitous broadband makes that easier.
Adam Hutchens (Marketing Representative, Laborers’ International Union of North America) – we went all digital during the pandemic, which meant we lost contact to much of our membership. I want to collaborate and learn.
Steve Fenske (General Counsel, Minnesota Association of Townships) – our members are not connected. Broadband is as important to us as roads. Second time on the task force. This is a fairness issue.
Paul McDonald (Board Chair, St. Louis County Commissioners) – we live in a hard to build place. We’re built on rock. We need better speed. 25/3 doesn’t work today. We invested at county level with $5 million cap funding. Townships have invest ARAP funds. I want to learn more. We need broadband in every home.
Ini Augustine (Chief Executive Officer, Technologist Computers) – represent people who are digitally redlined. Want to learn about the structure that allows redlining to happen. Founder of Black broadband summit. The Digital divide is the new Jim Crow. November 13 is next broadband summit.
Bruce Crane (Area Vice-President, Communications Workers of America) – on the national CWA broadband task force. Working on broadband for all. DEED funding will bring $650M to broadband we want to see high level labor standards
Gail Hedstrom (Director of the Fergus Falls Public Library) – I’ve seen disparities lack of access brings. Lack of broadband leads to lack of tech skills. I see people in their 30s who don’t have email addresses.
It’s an overview of what ODB does and information on the funding available including the border to border grants, low density grants, BEAD, IIJA and Digital Equity Funds.
Question on Challenge process: has OBD been involved in promoting the challenge process?
We have been trying. We spoke with MTA and have been talking with counties. We promoted individuals doing challenges early on. Counties have a wide range of tools to lead a challenge effort. We now have a GIS person on staff and that might help.
Is there funding to support the extra work to do challenges?
Not with out planning funds. There were microgrants for the Digital Equity Plan development but not for challenges.
We do have money for mapping. Many issues have arisen since July. We could look at budget modifications – but there probably won’t be a lot of capacity.
There should be a mechanism to fund the challenge support.
NTIA funding is based on FCC mapping – so BEAD funding has to serve the initially recognized unserved areas first. We know that this BEAD money is not enough.
Open Meeting Law
Legislative Process from Devin Bowdry, DEED Government Relations Coordinator
NTIA Update from Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth
Definition of served: You must have wired or licensed fixed wireless connection and speeds of at least 25 Mbps down and 3 up
10:00 a.m. – 10:05 a.m. Welcome and Introductions – Teddy Bekele, Chair, Minnesota Governor’s Task Force on Broadband
10:05 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Introductions and Comments from all Task Force Members
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Broadband Overview from Bree Maki, Executive Director, Office of Broadband Development, Minnesota Department of Economic Development
11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – Open Meeting Law from Taya Moxley-Goldsmith, Director of the Data Practices Office, Minnesota Department of Administration
11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Legislative Process from Devin Bowdry, DEED Government Relations Coordinator
12:00 p.m. – 12:10 p.m. NTIA Update from Tom Karst, Federal Program Officer, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth
12:10 p.m. – 12:15 p.m. Public Comment, Other Business, November 30th Meeting Plans, Wrap-up
Over the weekend, I had a chance to read through the 
Blandin on Broadband 