FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PSC TO HOLD BROADBAND EQUITY, ACCESS
AND DEPLOYMENT (BEAD) WEBINAR
Lincoln, December 15, 2022 – The Nebraska Public Service
Commission (PSC) in conjunction with Connect Nebraska
working group will hold the first in a series of webinars
focusing on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
(BEAD) Program on Wednesday ,December 21. The BEAD
program provides support to expand high-speed internet
access by funding planning, infrastructure deployment, and
adoption programs.
“This is the first of many outreach activities,” said Cullen
Robbins, Director, PSC Telecommunications/NUSF
Department. “By engaging our citizens and stakeholders
we hope to provide a clear understanding of the BEAD
program and the steps that will be taken to help bring
broadband to unserved and underserved areas of our state.”
The initial BEAD webinar will be held beginning at 2:00 p.m.
CST, Wednesday, December 21. An agenda and information
on how to participate in the webinar can be found on the PSC
website at <https://psc.nebraska.gov/broadband-equity-
access-and-deployment-bead-webinar >. The webinar will
also be recorded and made available on the Broadband
Nebraska website< https://broadband.nebraska.gov/ >.
In November, the PSC was awarded nearly five-million dollars
in initial BEAD planning funds from the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
This initial funding will be utilized to generate a state
broadband map, set up outreach activities to stakeholders
statewide and enable the PSC to increase staffing to meet
the needs of the program.
Nebraska will then receive at least $100 million in additional
funds to fulfill the objectives of BEAD. The exact amount
Nebraska will receive is expected to be announced by NTIA in
the summer of 2023.
Robbins said, “We would encourage anyone involved with
broadband or an interest in learning more about the BEAD
program to participate.”
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Contact:
Cullen Robbins- Dir. Telecommunications/NUSF
Cullen.robbins@nebraska.gov
or
Deb Collins- Communications & Media Mgr.
(402) 471-0226 / deb.collins@nebraska.gov
