Tag Archives: BEAD

More than 20 percent of BEAD locations will go to satellite and 67 percent will go to fiber

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Fierce Network reports…

After all the hand-wringing about the revisions to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program under the Trump administration, it looks like about 67.1% of eligible locations will get fiber, while 20.5% will receive low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connections. The remaining locations will receive fixed wireless access (10%) and coaxial cable (2.4%).

These figures come from the Connected Nation website, which is tracking all the BEAD proposals. Currently, it has data for 51 final proposals out of 56, and its data shows the allocations of 3.36 million locations out of a presumed 4.2 million.

The information comes from the Connected Nation interactive BEAD tracker, which I wrote about earlier this month. Looks like the national information has been updated since I last looked.

Doug Dawson points out three flaws of BEAD

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Doug Dawson knows broadband policy and technology from the ground up. He has written about three main flaws in BEAD funding…

BEAD Satellite Awards. I start with the premise that rural communities are not going to be happy when somebody officially tells them that the federal government is giving money to Starlink or Kuiper to solve their rural broadband gap. It’s likely that NTIA and the FCC will declare that satellite is good broadband so that they can declare that the rural broadband gap has been solved.

There are also natural limitations on the capabilities of satellite broadband. It can be difficult to deliver a satellite signal through heavy tree canopy.  …

Defaults. There will continue to be defaults for existing broadband grant programs. This year saw significant RDOF defaults from Charter and CenturyLink. There will be defaults on networks funded by ARPA grants, where funding ends at the end of 2026.

I expect BEAD defaults. …

Crappy Mapping. The biggest group of locations missed by BEAD will be due to poor FCC maps. The BEAD map challenge was a total joke. It was fairly easy for ISPs to get BEAD-eligible locations removed from the map, including many that should have stayed on. The map challenge made it practically impossible to add locations to the BEAD map where the FCC maps were in error. There are two major flaws in the FCC maps that will surface as people complain about still not having adequate broadband.

Office of Broadband Development Updates Oct 8: Conferences. Line Extension and BEAD Updates

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From the Office of Broadband Development…

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

  • Broadband in the news
  • Line Extension Connection Program update
  • BEAD updates
  • Broadband Task Force, October meeting plans

Broadband in the news

OBD Executive Director, Bree Maki (pictured above) on the panel, The Future of Broadband Policy & BEAD Program Implementation at the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) TechExpo25.

More mentions of BEAD in the news include Broadband Breakfast’s story on States race to meet federal broadband funding deadline and the Fierce Network’s States feel pressured to hurry up with new BEAD rules.

Bree Maki and OBD’s new Broadband Environmental and Land Use Coordinator, Megan Messerole, presented at the Minnesota Telecom Alliance 2025 Fall Conference. The event focused on key issues impacting the telecommunications industry, and Megan shared on her new role in working with internet service providers on navigating permitting processes for both state and federally funded broadband projects.

Line Extension Connection Program update

The Round 4 Line Extension bidding window opened, September 26, 2025.

OBD expects the round to have $3.5M in Capital Projects Fund (CPF) dollars available to grant. Information and resources on Line Extension are posted to the OBD Line Extension Connection Program webpage. OBD also expects to run a fifth round of Line Extension with state project funds.

While 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.

Questions on Line Extension can be sent to deed.broadband@state.mn.us or (651)-259-7610.

BEAD updates

As required by the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Minnesota 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 as is necessary to ensure all BEAD eligible locations are served as defined by the policy notice.

Updated and additional information will be posted to the OBD BEAD webpage.

Broadband Task Force, October meeting plans

The Broadband Task Force will be meeting on Wednesday, October 15 from 10am-12:30pm in Clearwater, MN at a TelCom Construction Training Facility. This meeting will be held in-person and is open to anyone from the public to attend.

Information on this and past meetings can be found on the Broadband Task Force webpage.

Conference discussion on the trials and tribulations of BEAD applications and processing

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More notes from the  SCTE TechExpo, this time from Route Fifty talking about trials and tribulations of BEAD applications and processing. There were remarks from the NTIA…

States are on track in submitting and finalizing their plans on how to spend their share of $42 billion meant to expand internet access, the federal official in charge of the program said this week.

Arielle Roth, the administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, said she is “pleasantly surprised” at the progress states are making on their revised final plans for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.

And from the state level from Minnesota…

Minnesota’s Executive Director of Broadband Development Bree Maki noted that the state received bids to serve 52,000 of its 76,000 eligible locations. Leftover money remains a key point of intrigue, however. Sandfoss said states are all “wondering what’s next for the remaining funds,” and hopeful of getting projects moving through the complex permitting process.

“I think the harder part for us is the stuff that we can’t control: the pole attachments, railroad crossings, those kinds of issues that aren’t as cut and dry as getting a state agency to approve a historic preservation review,” she said.

There are indications that the federal government wants to make permitting easier, especially through what can be arduous and yearslong project reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. Maki said Minnesota’s broadband office has hired an archaeologist to help with the latter.

Connected Nation creates interactive BEAD tracker

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Connected Nation has created an interactive BEAD tracker. It’s pretty slick. I hate to start by asking for more – but the rest of the post will be picture of what I did like. I wish there was a mapping component and I wish I could track by county. But when you’re looking for state (or national) level information it’s pretty slick.

From the main page:

A look at Minnesota – by locations

A look at Minnesota by grants

Page 2 for the US

Page 2 of MN

 

Is BEAD looking like RODF?

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Telecompetitor spoke with Finley Engineering Client Vice President Andy Heins about his take on BEAD…

First, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is setting three cost-per-location thresholds. Depending on the threshold reached, providers must (1) explain and justify their price, (2) explain, justify, and lower their price, or (3) renegotiate and accept other providers’ technology to serve the proposed area.

The practical result of these thresholds and the revised BEAD guidelines established in June is that, in the future, some rural areas and communities may not have access to the reliable, high-speed connections they want, need, and have been promised by the BEAD legislation. Heins believes rural areas and communities across the nation that want fiber will end up with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connections and will be disappointed with its quality.

The second challenge Heins identified is equally troubling. The provisional awards announced so far suggest that private equity may play a significant role in funding BEAD projects.

Private equity is not inherently a bad source of funding. But the typical investment profile for private equity involves making investments and seeking an exit with positive returns in a shorter timeframe than is typically required for rural network deployments.

This approach can lead to faster deployment, but it also raises questions about the long-term commitment to operating and maintaining these networks. Heins said rural communities need partners that foster both investment and sustainable stewardship to ensure these broadband projects continue to serve them for years to come.

While NTIA must sign off on every state’s final BEAD proposal — and retains the authority to request further revisions to approved budgets and projects — Heins wonders if the race to drive per-location costs lower will push the industry toward the same pitfalls we saw with the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund’s (RDOF) low-bid auctions, where aggressive underbidding has already led to widespread defaults and unfinished builds.

These are grim possibilities. It’s not what any of us wants for the future of BEAD. But when someone with years of industry experience speaks, it behooves us to listen.

Folks in some part of Minnesota are acutely aware of the issue s with RDOF, especially folks living in areas where LTD Broadband was awarded RDOF money and then funds were revoked and those areas lost out on the funding and the opportunity to work with another provider during the process.

State Office of Broadband are in a tough place with BEAD deadlines, budgets and expectations

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Fierce Network reports on a recent panel at the SCTE Tech Expo happening in Washington DC…

States have been chugging away at revising their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) proposals for NTIA, but the time crunch is gnawing away at broadband office resources.

Meghan Sandfoss, Kentucky’s executive director of broadband development, said in a panel Monday the BEAD program’s “curing” process, where NTIA reviews the state plans and requests changes, has a “very aggressive” timeline.

MN Office of Broadband Development’s Bree Maki was there…

“One thing we need to recognize as we’re talking about these deadlines is we don’t do this alone in a silo,” said Minnesota broadband chief Bree Maki. “We need information from our partners,” meaning the ISPs, so “the timelines are tight all around.”

Staffing issues don’t help matters, either. “We know we’re short staffed in the amount of work, and they are all too,” Maki said, referring to the state’s other agencies. Georgia broadband director Jessica Simmons said her team just has four people, but she noted that can be an advantage as “we’re all going to be in the loop” when problems arise.

“One thing we are not shy to say is I will borrow and steal from any other broadband office who has figured out the answer [to a problem],” Maki said. “I know my team has people they talk to on other peoples’ team, because it’s not just the directors doing it.”

Sounds like state offices are being asked to do more in permitting as well…

When it comes to problems with BEAD implementation, permitting is unsurprisingly a big one. As Roth noted Monday, NTIA set up a new online permitting tool states can use for BEAD projects subject to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, as well as provide exemptions where appropriate.

By doing this, NTIA aims to speed up the processing time per project and help broadband offices get their permitting paperwork together. NTIA is also requiring state broadband offices to act as “joint lead agencies” to carry out NEPA review, which for some is an entirely new field.

“Previously, our office has not really been involved in the permitting process. It’s really been the providers going and getting the permits themselves,” Simmons said. “That obviously will be a new kind of process for us, assisting with that.”

Both Rep Pete Stauber and Rep Kelly Morrison talk to House Small Business Committee about rural broadband

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Forbes Breaking News reports on remarks from Rep Kelly Morrison and Rep Pete Stauber at a House Small Business Committee hearing. Both recognize the importance of rural broadband, USF reform and value of FTTH…

 

States Revise Tentative BEAD Awards: MN must work on bids over $10,000 per passing

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I’ve shared this news but sometimes, it’s good to see how it gets framed and shared other places too; Broadband Breakfast reports…

Eight states have revised their tentative awards under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. Some made minor changes and others had material reductions in locations being served or money being spent.

And specifically about MN…

Meanwhile, Minnesota revealed costs thresholds NTIA is using to push spending down: Those from $10,000 to $20,000 per passing require written justification, those from $20,000 to $23,000 have to be negotiated down to $20,000, and those above $23,000 had to be renegotiated in three days. The state said it was given official notice on Monday.

US-wide BEAD award has been 46 percent of original allocation – in MN that was 58 percent

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Telecompetitor reports…

Most states (45 as of Friday) have released their recommended awards in the Benefit of the Bargain round in the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The total value of the award recommendations for those states is less than half of initial allocations, according to a Telecompetitor analysis.

The initial allocation for the 45 states was about $32.8 billion. The total value of the award recommendations for the states is about $15.2 billion, or about 46% of the initial allocation.

Here is the allocation versus award by state:

Minnesota places well above average at 57.8 percent (versus US wide percentage of 46 percent) and ranks 12 in terms of percentage retained. But that could continue to change…

It’s important to keep in mind that the states’ recommendations for BEAD awards are not final. The recommendations still must be approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is rumored to be seeking reductions to the award amounts.

EVENT Sep 30: BEAD Deployment: Preparing to Connect the Heartland Once and For All

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From Heartland Forward …

Join Heartland Forward on Tuesday, September 30th at 10 AM CST for a 60-minute webinar, BEAD Deployment: Preparing to Connect the Heartland Once and For All.

This conversation will:

  •  Provide an overview of how heartland states plan to deploy federal funding to deliver high-speed internet to all communities.
  •  Offer practical steps local governments, ISPs and community leaders can take, such as streamlining permitting and infrastructure approvals, to accelerate deployment when funding arrives.
  •  Highlight resources like the Connecting the Heartland Jobs Board, connecting workers to high-speed internet jobs and training opportunities to support rapid deployment.

Featured Speakers:

  •  Mary Larkin Furlow – Senior Manager of Connecting the Heartland, Heartland Forward
  •  Devon Braunstein – Director, Illinois Office of Broadband
  •  Kathryn de Wit – Project Director, Broadband Access, The Pew Charitable Trusts
  •  Glen Howie – State Broadband Director, The Arkansas State Broadband Office
  •  Veneeth Iyengar – Executive Director, ConnectLA
  •  Mike Sanders – Executive Director, Oklahoma Broadband Office
  •  Peter Voderberg – Chief, BroadbandOhio

Register here for the webinar.

 

Please share this invitation with others who are invested in connecting every home, business and community in the heartland. Together, we can ensure that every heartland community has the high-speed internet access it needs to thrive.

Office of Broadband Development Update Sep 24, 2025: BEAD mapping and Line Extension

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From the Office of Broadband Development…

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

  • Mapping + data updates for providers
  • BEAD updates
  • Line Extension Connection Program update
  • OBD in the field
  • Broadband Task Force, September meeting recap

Mapping + data updates for providers

Reminder for internet service providers!

The Office of Broadband Development, in partnership with our mapping vendor, Connected Nation, does perform a Fall update to the broadband coverage in Minnesota that is published on the interactive map at the end of the year. Because a busy construction season is wrapping up and we are planning to offer a fifth grant round of Line Extension at the new year, OBD wants to remind all providers that this data collection is the major mapping update for the Minnesota Broadband map. If you have completed construction of a broadband project since your last mapping data submission to Connected Nation in Fall 2024, please take this opportunity to have that updated coverage information included in this annual mapping update.

The deadline for submitting coverage information for this effort is Thursday October 2, 2025.

If you have questions about submitting coverage data, or didn’t receive outreach from Connected Nation, feel free to contact the Office of Broadband Development by email at deed.broadband@state.mn.us or by phone at (651)-259-7610.

BEAD updates

As required by the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Minnesota 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.

On September 22, NTIA released for the first time in writing the following cost thresholds for the BEAD program. The percentile is based off of the cost estimate that NTIA has determined. Every state has different numbers based on NTIA’s decisions and Minnesota’s federally determined cost thresholds are as follows:

  • 65-85th percentile, $10,000 to $20,000 per BSL – provider needs additional explanation for cost
  • 85th to 85th plus 15%, $20,000 to $23,000 – possibility for extraordinary circumstances to be explained by provider and try to get price under $20,000
  • Over 85th plus 15% percentile, $23,000 – providers have 72 hours to renegotiate price

Updated and additional information will be posted to the OBD BEAD webpage.

Line Extension Connection Program update

After the location addresses were posted for review on September 15 and challenges are submitted by September 24, the Round 4 Line Extension bidding window will open September 26, 2025.

OBD expects the round to have $3.5M in Capital Projects Fund (CPF) dollars available to grant. Information and resources on Line Extension are posted to the OBD Line Extension Connection Program webpage. OBD also expects to run a fifth round of Line Extension with state project funds.

Questions on Line Extension can be sent to deed.broadband@state.mn.us or (651)-259-7610.

OBD in the field

Commissioner Ida Rukavina of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) and OBD Executive Director Bree Maki at the State of the Range event.

OBD has been busy attending events statewide like the Broadband Public Alliance meeting, Association of Minnesota Counties annual meeting, State of the Range (pictured above), and Minnesota Cable Association reception to provide updates on state broadband programs and BEAD in Minnesota.

Since August, OBD staff have gone on over 15 site visits for Mediacom, Savage Communications, Inc (SCI), Gardonville, Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC), Arvig, Acentek, Harmony/MiEnergy/MiBroadband, Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC), East Central Energy (ECE), Johnson Telephone Company, Frontier, Benton Communications, Meeker, and Lismore projects.

Pictured below: Trucks hauling and installing main line fiber conduit at a Round 10 site visit for an Acentek project in Canton Township. 

Broadband Task Force, September meeting recap

The Broadband Task Force met on Monday September 22. The Task Force heard presentations from Communication Service for the Deaf on their programs and work for individuals in the deaf and hard of hearing community, and state speed goal updates from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Thank you to presenters for sharing their time and expertise!

More information on this and past meetings can be found on the Broadband Task Force webpage.

Office of Broadband Development Office hours Sep 24: BEAD updates and federal permitting

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Almost 50 people attended the Office of Broadband Development Office hours this week to get updates on BEAD. Also, Megan Messerol, the Land Use Permitting Expert at OBD spoke about rules for federal funding related to land and permits. People had good questions and OBD made clear that they are happy to have open conversations with all partners. NTIA has the final say, so OBD may not always have an immediate answer but tonight we can find it.

I livestreamed the session – but it looks like only 6 minutes have been archived.

Questions & Chat notes

  • What happens to the remaining money that doesn’t get doled out?
    We don’t know but we have created a plan to use it all. We remain hopeful
  • What happened to the locations that didn’t get bids from providers?
    OBD did direct negotiations with 20,000 locations to because no one bid on those areas in the competitive round
  • Note: Project data reflected on the map is subject to change until NTIA approves MN’s Final Proposal and grant contracts are executed with subgrantees.
  • Welcome Megan. So happy to have you on the team! Will OBD or NTIA make the Categorical exclusion (CatX) determinations? High level idea of what that will look like?
    OBD will help with exclusion determinations – working with ISPs to gather most of the info. Then OBD will work through the process. NTIA will make the final determination.
  • ISPs will not interface with the ESP, but rather OBD?
    Correct
  • Link to the OBD BEAD webpage: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/bead/
  • NTIA is having a webinar on Tuesday Sep 30 https://broadbandusa.ntia.gov/events/latest-events/permitting-broadband-infrastructure-projects
  • You are saying don’t start your project until final approval – we see 47 week in delays in getting fiber. We haven’t even looked at equipment. Can procurement start before final approval? Do we need waivers if prices are growing? Will they be reimbursable?
    There is some guidance in our draft – but it is still a draft/ There is language about what you can purchase in advance. It is up to the NTIA.
  • will you please put this deck on the webpage
    Yes – it will be posted shortly!
  • any other dates to mention besides Sept. 30 permitting?
    Not at this time

Amazon: Project Kuiper ready to provide satellite service in six months

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Broadband Breakfast reports on Amazon Kuiper satellite, which has applied for more than $11 million in BEAD funding in Minnesota…

Starlink’s one and only rival said it is ready to begin connecting Internet customers.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper said this week it plans to begin broadband service in six months, even though only a little more than a hundred satellites are currently in orbit.

At the World Space Business Week conference in Paris, Ricky Freeman, president of Amazon Kuiper Government Solutions, said the Amazon-owned company expects to provide service in five countries, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States by the end of the second quarter next year, according to various news outlets.

Broadband Breakfast reports on Gigi Sohn’s visit to Minnesota

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Broadband Breakfast reports on the MN Public Broadband Alliance meeting in Le Sueur County last week…

After years of broken promises from Washington, Gigi Sohn urged Minnesota leaders last week to take the state’s broadband future into their own hands.

“While Washington has failed you, Minnesota has the power – and the track record – to build its own broadband future,” she said. Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband and a former Biden FCC nominee, delivered her remarks Sept. 10 in New Prague at What’s Next for Broadband in Minnesota, a forum hosted by the Minnesota Public Broadband Alliance.

Sohn pointed to the federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, launched in 2020, where providers defaulted on 80 percent of more than $400 million in Minnesota awards. “These numbers are nothing less than tragic,” she said.