Link Up Idaho: Broadband Update as of October 2024

Update provided by Link Up Idaho

The Idaho Office of Broadband (IOB) and the Idaho Broadband Advisory Board (IBAB) are excited to share the following information with the State’s partners and stakeholders.

Next IBAB Meeting: Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. – noon MT.  Meeting details and agenda forthcoming.

Idaho’s BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment) Initial Proposal Volume II was officially approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Thursday, September 5, 2024.  Therefore, Idaho is now on the clock and has 365-days to complete and submit the State’s Final Proposal. See final, approved IP Volume II on Link Up Idaho.

BEAD Challenge Process: See Final Determination Dashboard here.

– All Challenge Process data, final determinations and the BSL eligibility list were submitted to NTIA by 10/1/24 in accordance with the BEAD NOFO and the 120-day timeline for the BEAD Challenge Process. (Opened June 3, 2024)

– Important to note: Data reflected on the dashboard is not final, but as submitted to NTIA and is pending final NTIA review and approval.

Office Hours:

– Tuesday, 10/8 @ 9am-10am MT via Zoom

– Tuesday, 10/15 @ 10:30am-11:30am MT via Zoom

Next steps will include the publication of BEAD Application Project Areas and the initiation of the pre-qualification/letter-of-intent process to begin identifying eligible applicants.  Idaho is still weeks away from either occurring, so standby and continue to monitor Link Up Idaho.

The IOB will be diligently working on documents, guidelines and planning tools to help all stakeholders.