Minnesota Clears BEAD Milestones

Minnesota's first BEAD fiber project has reached two major preconstruction milestones.

According to the state's Office of Broadband Development, East Central Energy Fiber now has an executed BEAD contract and an approved National Environmental Policy Act decision memo. The project is expected to serve 3,750 locations in east-central Minnesota.

The office is now preparing more contracts and reworking project scopes, which can shift for several reasons, including the removal of locations newly identified as already served and the re-award of locations when a provider declines an award.

The Office of Broadband Development said those scope changes require approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and that the review can take several weeks.

Minnesota is working to meet the federal contracting deadline of October 8, 2026.

California Scales Back LEO Awards

California's BEAD Final Proposal has federal approval, and the state's utility regulator is now being asked to sign off on the changes made to meet updated requirements.

NTIA approved California's Final Proposal and funding request on July 17. A draft California Public Utilities Commission resolution, issued July 31, asks the commission to ratify the revisions that staff made during NTIA's curing process. The resolution is scheduled to appear on the commission’s September 17 agenda.

The draft resolution shows that the curing process substantially reduced the state's proposed awards for low Earth orbit satellites. Before curing, California proposed spending approximately $165 million to provide LEO satellite service to more than 138,000 locations. The revised proposal allocates approximately $76 million to serve nearly 73,000 locations.

Changes to terrestrial broadband projects were smaller. Terrestrial funding declined by approximately $72 million, while the number of locations fell by just over 4,000.

The revised proposal recommends 83 projects and would award over $1.4 billion, serving more than 269,000 locations. Subgrantees would contribute $861 million in matching funds. The commission estimates the average cost at $5,254 per broadband-serviced location and says the projects together would reach every eligible BEAD location in the state.

Governments Align on 6G

The United States and 24 partner governments are aligning around a shared vision for the development of 6G wireless networks.

On July 27, the NTIA launched the Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security, an international initiative advancing a December 2025 presidential memorandum titled "Winning the 6G Race." The memorandum identifies 6G networks as foundational to U.S. national security and economic competitiveness.

Participating governments committed to fostering 6G systems that are open, interoperable, secure, resilient, supported by artificial intelligence, efficient in their use of resources, and driven by innovation and competition.

The call to action does not set technical standards. It says governments should avoid duplicating the work of industry-driven bodies already engaged in 6G's technical development, while seeking constructive ways to interface with private-sector stakeholders.

Partnering governments have pledged to strengthen cooperation over the next 12 months and beyond, with early milestones including naming national 6G points of contact, opening consultations with industry and academia, and beginning supply chain coordination.

An international progress review is planned for 2027.

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