Broadband Office Name: Nebraska Broadband Office
BEAD Award Amount: $405.3 M
Nebraska Broadband Director: Patrick Haggerty
Website: https://broadband.nebraska.gov/
Nebraska BEAD Program Tracker
| State | IP Vol 1 Approved | IP Vol 2 Approved | Challenge Process Submission Closed | Challenge Process Final Determination Phase Completed | 1-Year Subgrantee Selection Process |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | Yes | No | Yes – click for more info | Yes | N/A |
Nebraska BEAD Program Information
Key Updates
Nebraska is awaiting approval from NTIA on its Initial Proposal Volume 2.
The Nebraska Broadband Office has closed its State BEAD Challenge Submission Process. NBO will post challenges and decisions here.
Once the final decisions are posted, a 60-day cooling-off period will begin.
All NBO decisions are final pending NTIA approval.
Nebraska BEAD Program Plans & Maps
Nebraska BEAD Program Initial Proposal Volume 2: Overview
*Information is subject to change. Nebraska is awaiting official approval of Initial Proposal Volume 2 from the NTIA.
BEAD Long-Term Objectives
The Nebraska Broadband Office (NBO) has published the following goals and objectives:
Goal 1: Bolster economic opportunities by connecting every Nebraskan household and business to high-speed internet.
- Target State grants and programs to unserved or underserved areas where private investment alone cannot sustain the investment needed to provide 100/100 Mbps broadband service.
Goal 2: Expand digital inclusion and adoption to achieve affordability, access, and digital literacy.
- Expand digital literacy training/access to devices, address affordability, leverage E-rate special construction, and conduct a landscape analysis of existing programs.
Goal 3: Enable Nebraska to thrive by fostering and supporting a digital economy.
- Encourage use of broadband technology, grow workforce development programs, improve delivery of government services, and leverage strategies to improve digital economy.
Goal 4: Develop robust collaboration across communities through strategic planning to ensure all unserved, underserved, and underrepresented communities are connected.
- Develop regular forums for broadband policy and decision-making. Utilize collaboration for local engagement.
Nebraska BEAD Program Project Area Design
Nebraska will determine the project areas and consider applicant intent through an RFA process.
Nebraska BEAD Program Extremely High Cost Threshold
Only if it is needed for multiple applicant rounds will the EHC be developed. It will utilize the NTIA CostQuest cost model and information from applicants to prioritize priority broadband projects.
BEAD Deployment Subgrantee Selection
The NBO is asking for the following preregistration information from subgrantees and compliance with financial capability, managerial capability, operational capability, technical capability, ownership information, project area definition, public funding information, compliance with laws, cybersecurity/supply chain compliance, EHCT process, and BABA/EHP compliance.
Primary Criteria for Priority Projects: 300 pts
- Minimal BEAD Outlay – 120 pts
- Affordability – 135 pts (Monthly Price + Length of Addordable Commitment)
- Fair Labor Practices – 45 pts (Narrative of compliance, certification from officer/director, violation disclosure, applicable wages, and health/safety)
- Secondary Criteria: 100 pts
- Technical Capabilities – 30 pts
- Service Quality – 20 pts
- Local/Tribal Coordination – 20 pts
- Speed to Deployment – 15 pts
- Life of Assets – 10 pts
- Equitable Workforce Development and Job Quality – 5 pts
Primary/Secondary Criteria for Other Last Mile Deployments: Follows the same criteria.
BEAD Non-Deployment Subgrantee Selection
The State of Nebraska does not intend to allocate funding for non-deployment activities as NBO expects it will have just enough funds to reach the unserved locations and will allocate all funds on deployment activities except where indicated for administrative expenses.
BEAD Eligible Entity Implementation Activities
NBO would also like to add resources to create an IIJA hub, which would increase access to professional engineers, who would assist in reviewing of NBEAD applications and performance monitoring of funded subgrantee projects.
The state is estimating approximately $1,000,000 will be needed for these efforts, of which $500,000 was requested of Initial Planning funds, and $250,000 for FY2025, and the final $250,000 for FY2026.
BEAD Local, Tribe, and Regional Broadband Planning Process
NBO continues to utilize the strategic engagement plan formed early in 2023, in close partnership with the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and the Nebraska Public Service Commission (NPSC):
- Establishing a relationship and a respectful rapport between the targeted stakeholder groups and state government.
- Providing a uniform, base understanding of the BEAD and Digital Equity Act Programs.
- Sharing the PSC/NBO/OCIO planning and implementation timelines and ongoing engagement plans.
- Gaining a high-level understanding and clarity on stakeholders’ understanding of the current state of broadband deployment and priority concerns.
- Gaining a high-level understanding and clarity on stakeholders’ understanding of the current state of broadband adoption and affordability and priority concerns.
- Gaining a high-level understanding of the ISP interest and participation in deployment, priority concerns, and potential participation in other broadband deployment programs.
- Establish feedback mechanisms to capture additional input from stakeholders.
BEAD Labor Standards & Protection
NBO requires all subgrantees to submit the following information:
A record of past compliance with federal/employment laws:
- Must address compliance on deployment projects within the last 3 years.
- Certification form from an Officer/Director level employee of past compliance.
- Written confirmation that subgrantee has disclosed any violations from contractors within the last 3 years.
- Any labor and employment practices in place.
Plans for ensuring compliance with federal/employment laws:
- Wages/benefits by worker classification.
- Wages/benefit information.
- How labor disputes are minimized.
- Steps for safety/healthy workplace.
As well, plans for using a directly employed workforce, as opposed to a subcontracted workforce, paying prevailing wages, and the use of local hires
BEAD Minority Business Enterprises / Women’s Business Enterprises / Labor Surplus Area Firms Inclusion
NBO, as a part of NDOT, will work with the agency’s Civil Rights office to leverage existing tools, resources, and lists of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) to further compliance with federal requirements.
NBO plans to:
- Place qualified MBEs/WBEs on solicitation lists;
- Ensure that MBEs/WBEs are solicited whenever they are potential sources.
- Dividing total requirements, when economically feasible, into smaller tasks or quantities.
- Establishing delivery schedules, which encourage participation.
- Using the services and assistance of such organizations as the Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce.
- Collaborate with NDED, Nebraska Dep. of Administrative Services (NDAS), and NDOT.
BEAD Cost & Barrier Reduction
(1) Promoting the use of existing infrastructure.
- Nebraska has a robust municipal-level infrastructure of dark fiber. This infrastructure could be accessed to benefit the NBEAD program and its subgrantees.
- NBO is well positioned to engage with providers on current or planned road projects to reduce the amount of ground-disturbing activity to place fiber underground.
- NBO will also work with the Office of the Governor to examine
regulatory approaches to further leverage the use of state-owned infrastructure or enable cities and counties to offer streamlined access to their infrastructure.
(2) Promoting and adapting dig-once policies.
- the One-Call Notification System Act.
(3) Streamlining permitting processes.
- NBO will continue to engage with the League of Nebraska
Municipalities (LONM) and the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) to determine how the permitting process can be improved.
(4) Streamlining cost-effective access to poles, conduits, and easements.
- Pole access is managed at a local level. NBO will work with representatives from LONM and NACO to sustain the ease and speed of pole access permitting.
(5) Streamlining rights of way, including the imposition of reasonable access requirements.
- NDOT manages the process of applying for a right of way permit in Nebraska.
BEAD Low-Cost Broadband Service Option
NBO requires all applicants to offer a low-cost options based on the following criteria:
- Allows end users to apply to ACP.
- Speeds of 100/20 Mbps.
- Latency measurements of no more than 100 ms.
- Not subject to data charges, surcharges, or usage-based throttling.
- Free upgrade if provider later offers better service.
- Required to participate in ACP.
BEAD Middle-Class Affordability Plans
The median income in Nebraska as of 2021 was $66,644.
The plan must not be subject to data caps, surcharges, or usage-based throttling and must be subject to the same acceptable use policies as all other subscribers tobroadband services offered by the provider.
NBO will require all providers to offer the middle-class plan across the NBEAD funded network but encourages providers to offer the plan to all customers.
