Intelligence Brief

Entity Profile

Budget Signals

Current financial position: Declining. FY2024 revenue was $7.9M (down 41% from $13.4M in FY2023) against $10.5M in expenses, producing a $2.5M operating deficit. Net assets fell from $7.7M to $5.2M. This is the BEAD transition gap — planning-phase contracts wound down but deployment-phase work hasn't ramped up yet.

Revenue composition: 83% government contributions, 13% program services, 4% investment income. Almost entirely government-dependent.

Federal grant history: $45.1M in direct federal obligations (9 NTIA/ARRA SBDD grants + 1 USDA RBDG). Total NTIA SBDD program involvement across 11 states + Puerto Rico: $43.4M.

Revenue Cycle Pattern

Where the money is: CN is positioned at the nexus of $42.5B in BEAD program funds. They built the BEAD Tracker dashboard covering 96% of states/territories. Their CEO endorsed the SUCCESS for BEAD Act which would redirect $21B+ in remaining BEAD funds. They are a known quantity to NTIA and state broadband offices. The question is whether they convert that positioning into revenue as states move from planning to deployment.

Technology Gaps

What they have: Professional-grade stack. AWS CloudFront, Laravel/Vue.js, Cloudflare DNS, M365 with Barracuda, Salesforce CRM, Act-On marketing automation, Imgix image CDN, Alchemer surveys, ArcGIS Enterprise for GIS. This is a well-funded IT operation.

Where they're underinvested

1. DMARC enforcement: Set to p=none (monitoring only). Not actively preventing email spoofing. Gap for an organization communicating with state broadband offices and federal agencies.

2. BEAD subdomain cert expired: bead.connectednation.org SSL cert expired December 2025. Either the program portal is dead or someone missed a renewal.

3. Platform migration residue: Migrated from Drupal to WordPress Multisite to Laravel/Vue.js over 18 years. Old structure still visible. 1,684 PDFs in Wayback from Drupal era no longer on live site.

4. Remote access gateway on AT&T static IP: remote.connectednation.org resolves to 12.153.21.197 (AT&T static IP), indicating on-prem infrastructure. In an otherwise cloud-first stack, this stands out.

5. Data delivery gap: CN has massive broadband datasets (50-state mapping, BEAD tracker, Broadband Readiness Index for 3,219 counties) but delivers them as PDFs and interactive web tools, not as structured data products. There's a gap between what they collect and what they deliver.

What Oahe could offer: Data pipeline consulting. Transform CN's broadband intelligence from PDF reports and web dashboards into actionable structured data products for state broadband offices.

Decision Makers

Entry point analysis: Chris Pedersen (EVP Development & Planning) or Frank Martinez (VP Strategic Initiatives) are the most likely first contacts. Pedersen handles new programming relationships; Martinez handles strategic initiatives and comes from an industry background (Intel). Tom Ferree is the decision-maker but likely delegates initial conversations.

Pain Points

1. Revenue cliff: 41% revenue decline in FY2024. The BEAD transition gap is real — CN built the tracker and positioned themselves as the scorekeeper, but the deployment money hasn't flowed to them yet. They're burning reserves ($2.5M deficit).

2. Government dependency: 83% of revenue from government contributions. If political winds shift on BEAD (which the SUCCESS for BEAD Act suggests they might — redirecting funds to AI infrastructure), CN's revenue model is exposed.

3. Historical reputation baggage: The 2008-2010 telecom-industry-ties controversy (AT&T lobbyists on board, mapping data opacity, Public Knowledge criticism) is still findable in SourceWatch and Techdirt archives. Old news but not buried.

4. Data delivery gap: CN collects extraordinary broadband data but publishes it primarily through web dashboards and PDF reports. No evidence of structured data products, APIs, or data-as-a-service. In the BEAD deployment era, state broadband offices need data engineering, not just data visualization.

5. Subsidiary sprawl: Five entities (CNIXP LLC, CNX, ConnectKentucky, Connected Tennessee, Connect K-12) create management complexity. CNIXP's 125-IXP ambition is enormous relative to the parent org's $7.9M revenue.

6. Disaster vulnerability at HQ: Three FEMA declarations in four years in Bowling Green. Physical operations in a disaster-prone jurisdiction.

Competitive Landscape

Who contracts with them

• NTIA — primary federal relationship ($45M in historical grants)
• USDA Rural Business Cooperative Service ($97K RBDG)
• State broadband offices in TX, IA, MI, MN, AK, NV, SC, OH, KS, TN, FL, PR
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (listed as partner)
• 300+ broadband providers (mapping partnerships)
• DE-CIX (partnered with CNIXP for IXP operations)
• Macquarie Capital (partnered with CNX for broadband P3s, ~2016)

Competitors in broadband data/mapping

• CostQuest Associates — built the FCC Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric
• BroadbandNow — consumer-facing broadband data
• Ookla/Speedtest — speed measurement data
• State broadband offices — increasingly building in-house capability
• NTIA itself — as it builds federal broadband data infrastructure

Oahe's differentiation: CN is a broadband policy and mapping organization that publishes web dashboards. Oahe is a data engineering firm that builds structured data products. CN has the relationships and the data; Oahe has the pipeline and delivery capability. These are complementary, not competitive.

Timing Opportunities

1. BEAD deployment ramp (2026-2028): As BEAD funds flow from planning to deployment, state broadband offices will need data infrastructure to track progress, verify builds, and report to NTIA. CN has the relationships but may not have the data engineering capability. This is the window.

2. Revenue recovery pressure (NOW): With a $2.5M deficit and declining reserves, CN is actively looking for revenue. They'll be more receptive to partnerships that bring in money than they would be at the top of a funding cycle.

3. CNIXP buildout (2025-2027): The 125-IXP joint venture is an enormous infrastructure play. Each IXP facility needs connectivity data, traffic analysis, and site selection support. Kansas groundbreaking (May 2025) means this is real and moving.

4. SUCCESS for BEAD Act pivot: If BEAD funds get redirected toward AI infrastructure (as Ferree endorsed), CN will need to pivot its positioning. Data pipeline capability for AI-enabling telecom infrastructure is a natural extension.

5. 25th anniversary (2026): CN is in celebration and visibility mode. World record attempt and anniversary content. Good time to approach — the organization is focused on demonstrating relevance and impact.

Recommended Approach

Connected Nation is a 25-year-old national nonprofit with deep federal broadband relationships, extraordinary data assets (50-state mapping, 3,219-county readiness index, BEAD disbursement tracking), and a proven ability to win and execute large government grants. They are currently under financial pressure (41% revenue decline, $2.5M deficit) at a moment when the broadband ecosystem is shifting from planning to deployment, requiring data engineering capabilities they appear to lack.

The pitch: Oahe provides the data pipeline and structured data delivery capability that transforms CN's broadband intelligence from PDF reports and web dashboards into actionable data products for state broadband offices. Position as a subcontractor or technology partner, not a competitor. CN has the relationships and the contracts; Oahe has the engineering.

Entry point: Chris Pedersen (EVP Development) or Frank Martinez (VP Strategic Initiatives). Lead with the BEAD deployment data gap — state offices need more than dashboards, they need structured data pipelines. Reference CN's own Broadband Readiness Index as an example of data that could be delivered as a product, not just a visualization.

Timing: Now. The revenue pressure makes them receptive, the BEAD deployment ramp creates the need, and the 25th anniversary mode means they're focused on demonstrating continued relevance.