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The following updates are available from the Office of Broadband Development:
- Register now! Connecting One Minnesota Summit, Tuesday March 12th 2024
- Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, February meeting recap
- Digital Equity Act Update
- Welcome to our new staff in the Office of Broadband Development!
Register now! Connecting One Minnesota Summit, Tuesday March 12th 2024
The Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) Office of Broadband Development is hosting the Celebrating 10 Years of Connecting One Minnesota-Broadband Event on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. This hybrid event will bring together people in Minnesota from Internet Service Providers, the federal, state, tribal, local governments, and advocates from across the state. Connecting people to people, people to information, and people to resources in Minnesota is critical to our economic stability and digital opportunity.
Visit the Connecting One Minnesota-Broadband webpage for full information on the agenda, session and speaker biographies, and reserving a hotel room. Please note: Reservations made in the room block must be made by Tuesday February 27th, 2024, at 11:50 PM CST.
Registration to attend in-person or virtually is available here.
Governor’s Task Force on Broadband, February meeting recap
The Task Force met at the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) in St. Paul, MN on Thursday February 15th to highlight AMC and the counties Legislative platforms, provide an overview of Minnesota’s Legislature and Timelines, go over BEAD and Digital Opportunity updates, and give updates on Task Force Subgroups. The agenda is available, as are minutes from previous Task Force meetings on the Broadband Task Force webpage.
Digital Equity Act Update
On February 15, Maine became the first state to have its federal digital equity plan accepted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). This milestone starts an important clock: NTIA has 30 days from the date of the first plan’s acceptance to issue the State Digital Equity Capacity Grant notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and application materials. The Digital Equity Capacity Grant program is funded at $1.44B and enables states to implement their plans. OBD is awaiting NTIA’s acceptance of Minnesota’s Digital Opportunity Plan and looks forward to sharing more information once the NOFO is released.
Welcome to our new staff in the Office of Broadband Development!
Ace Wesselmann, GIS Analyst
Ace is a United States Air Force veteran who has over 10 years of experience working with geospatial data. He has experience working with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency as well as other federal agencies utilizing GIS. Ace has a bachelor’s degree in business management from Bemidji State University and a GIS and Geospatial Technology Certificate from UCLA. Most recently, he has also been studying for and obtaining certifications in Cyber Security. In Ace’s free time he enjoys traveling and the outdoor recreation opportunities that Minnesota offers.
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