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Task force breakout sessions prioritize infrastructure, outreach and affordability; staff to fold edits into June draft report
Summary
Breakout rooms prioritized infrastructure and future-proofing, outreach/accountability, workforce development and affordability. Members flagged the need to clarify terms (line extension), reduce permitting duplication, strengthen tribal nation eligibility, and set SMART goals; PSC staff will incorporate edits into a draft report due June 15 and the final report is due June 30.
Task force members worked in three breakout rooms and reported prioritized recommendations for the annual report. Members said the top infrastructure priorities are future-proofing and incentives for applicants that offer low-cost plans and open-access or scalable technology.
Jessica summarized the poll and breakout guidance, saying infrastructure and future-proofing came out "clearly on top," with outreach/partnership/accountability, workforce development and digital skills among other high-ranked items. For nondeployment funds, affordability programs to ensure monthly broadband subscriptions are affordable received top priority.
Breakout rooms also surfaced implementation barriers and drafting fixes: clarify what "line extension" means (members said service providers use different definitions), strengthen procurement and permitting coordination to reduce duplication, ensure redundancy in middle-mile upgrades, and clarify which tribal nations are eligible and how to coordinate with federal land managers. Rooms urged adding more specificity on who convenes and how progress will be measured (suggestions included SMART goals and named convening roles, with the PSC as a potential clearinghouse).
PSC staff said they will incorporate the breakout edits into the draft recommendations, with a draft report target of June 15 and a final annual report due June 30. The task force agreed there will be no meeting in June and the next meeting is July 15.
Next steps: staff will integrate edits and clarifications into the draft report and circulate updates for one more iteration before the final submission.
