June Newsletter
Updates
BEAD Program Update
The Indiana Broadband Office (IBO) has opened pre-qualification for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.
The pre-qualification portal opened on Friday, June 20, 2025 at 9 a.m. EST and closes on Monday, July 21 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The link to register can be found at connectingindiana.com/register/bead.
Chief Broadband Officer Stephen Cox kicked off pre-qualification with a webinar on Friday, June 20, 2025 to discuss the updated BEAD Policy Notice and what changes are to be made for Indiana's BEAD program.
You can find the webinar recording, slide deck, pre-qualification guidance document and FAQs about the program on the IBO pre-qualification page here.
The IBO is planning to open Round 1 for subgrantee selection on Thursday, July 10, and close on Monday, July 28, at 11:59 p.m. EST. All updates will be found on our website.
If you have any questions or want to meet with the IBO team, email IndianaBroadband@iot.in.gov.
Indiana Connectivity Program Round 15 opens soon
The Round 14 closing date of the Indiana Connectivity Program was June 2, 2025. The team is ensuring all necessary submissions and evaluations are completed on time, and are continuing to conduct ongoing maintenance to streamline operations and support successful implementation.
Round 15 will be opening in July 2025.
The Indiana Connectivity Program is a state-funded grant that can help many one-off locations get connected around the state. Owners of residential and business locations unserved or underserved (access to actual speeds less than 100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload) can apply for consideration by entering their information into the Next Level Connections portal to initiate their interest in receiving broadband internet service.
Click here to register
Click here for returning users
Where was the IBO this month?
Chief Broadband Officer Stephen Cox attended and spoke on a panel about the BEAD program at the Mid-America Regulatory Conference in mid-June in Indianapolis.
Moderated by Dan Watermeier, Commissioner of the Nebraska Public Service Commission, the "BEAD Funding and the Impact on Energy Utilities" session focused on the collaboration between communications and energy providers addressing regulatory and economic development challenges for shared success.
He was joined by (from left): Matt DeTura, Counsel, External and State Affairs at CTIA, Robby Frantz, Senior Vice President of Utility Services at Orbital Engineering, Ryan Hadley, Director of Policy and Government Relations of Indiana Electric Cooperatives, and Jake Varn, Associate Manager, Broadband Access Initiative of Pew Charitable Trusts.
Next Level Connections update
The IBO team is continuing ongoing maintenance to ensure the reliability and efficiency of NLC operations. The team is working on finalizing NLC 3 projects, and NLC Rounds 3 and 4 quarterly reports are due by the end of July.
Did you know?
The first webcam video is from the University of Cambridge. The subject of the first live video feed? A coffee pot.