How ‘Broadband Brian’ Is Helping North Dakota Race to 100%
Life has always moved pretty fast for Brian Newby.
Take his daily runs near his home in Redlands, CA. Rain or (much more likely) shine, he’s pounded the pavement every morning for the better part of 25 years, averaging about 30 miles a week and logging more than 20 long-distance races.
Or his former career at Sprint, where he helped build a startup telecommunications relay service from zero to $65 million annually, and later served on the leadership team that doubled wholesale revenue from $600 million to $1.2 billion in three years—ultimately growing it further to $1.5 billion.
Even Newby’s family milestones seem to come at the speed of light. His son and daughter have grown into adults in the blink of an eye, and in January, he’ll get to add “Pops” to his title.
So, as Broadband Program Director at NDIT, when it comes to North Dakota’s race to become the first state in the nation with 100% broadband coverage, perhaps it should come as no surprise.
Newby’s in it to win it.
Broadband doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It takes collaboration among multiple partners—like NDIT’s Brian Nybakken and consulting firm Guidehouse—and Newby has made bringing those groups together a big part of the job.
North Dakota Dreamin’
Newby may currently live in Cali, but his heart is most definitely in North Dakota. It’s the culmination of a career journey that’s been unexpected, to say the least.
Born in Kansas City, MO, Newby earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in communications from the University of Missouri–Kansas City. His dream had always been to be PR Director for the Kansas City Royals. While pursuing that gig, he moonlighted as a freelance sports writer for United Press International, covering Royals games and the newly created Major Indoor Soccer League.
The Royals job never materialized, but an incredible career launch at Sprint did. Hired about a week before graduation, Newby spent the next 20 years there.
Along the way, he ran for city council in Shawnee, KS. (Not to be confused with Pawnee, IN, from NBC’s Parks and Recreation—though Newby’s tenure had its own share of packed-gymnasium meetings, including one about a large pit in the ground, believe it or not.)
Two and a half years later, Newby became Johnson County Election Commissioner, a role he held for 11 years. From there, he became Executive Director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, taking him to Washington, D.C., for what he calls a professionally rewarding but intensely political “meat grinder.”
Eventually, a posting for North Dakota’s State Election Director caught his eye. Encouraged by then Secretary of State Al Jaeger and Deputy Secretary Jim Silrum, Newby took a leap of faith many wouldn’t: He moved to Bismarck, sight unseen, reassuring himself that the city could become “the Austin of the North” and that he’d be “praying for global warming” to get through his first winter.
Newby led North Dakota elections through the COVID–19 era and the shift toward greater use of mail-in balloting. It was rewarding yet stressful work, coming around the time of a difficult bout with—and eventual triumph over—colon cancer. His wife Jessica was working at NDIT at the time, and the outpouring of support from team members who didn’t even know Newby spoke volumes. “That actually played a big part in me wanting to work here,” he says.
Then the opportunity he’d been waiting for came—in the form of his dream job.
“I really feel like I scored by landing my job at NDIT,” Newby says with a grin. And while Jessica’s career eventually led the couple to California, she remains beloved by many at Team NDIT to this day.
Like his work in broadband, Newby’s time at NDIT has been all about building strong connections, relationships that have made North Dakota feel increasingly like home.
Newby wasn’t yet working at NDIT when he battled colon cancer, but the outpouring of support he and Jessica received from NDIT colleagues left a lasting impression. It was one of the reasons he knew NDIT was the kind of place he wanted to work.
The Race to 100%
Ask Newby about the “how” behind North Dakota’s broadband success, and the first thing out of his mouth isn’t about himself. True to his PR roots, he’s incredibly modest and quick to spotlight the hard work of others, especially the state’s broadband carriers and other key partners.
But the truth is, Newby has been a driving force in putting North Dakota on track to become the first state in the nation to reach 100% high-speed broadband coverage. And while other states may lean on satellite or fixed-wireless solutions to close the gap, North Dakota is going all in on fiber, digging trenches and laying cable to bring true high-speed access to every corner of the state.
“When you get down to it, fiber essentially has unlimited speed,” Newby says. “That’s a big deal.”
And North Dakota nearly missed out on it.
In 2023, just as Newby started at NDIT, a pool of capital-project funding—enough to eventually connect roughly 2,400 locations across the state—was about to be redirected to a different program. Then a man named Corey Mock, a state legislator at the time, stepped in with a few others and fought to keep the funding devoted to broadband. It worked.
That decision meant thousands of locations could be addressed immediately rather than waiting to move through the lengthier federal process the Broadband team would eventually face. Had the funding gone elsewhere, those same locations would have been folded into a seemingly endless bureaucratic queue, ballooning the backlog to roughly 3,000 locations and potentially pushing the state’s timeline for full coverage out by as much as five years.
It’s not lost on Newby that Mock now serves as Chief Information Officer for the State of North Dakota, and he’s beyond grateful. The same person who once fought on the House floor to protect broadband funding is now leading the agency charged with delivering the impact.
Full circle doesn’t begin to cover it.
Newby has always been a runner—and these days, he’s helping North Dakota race toward a different finish line: being the first state to reach 100% broadband connectivity.
‘The Ultimate Hurry Up & Wait’
Ironically, for someone like Newby who likes to work quickly, navigating broadband compliance and approval chains can feel like “the ultimate hurry up and wait.” North Dakota is moving faster than almost anyone else in the process, yet it can still feel painfully slow at times.
But bit by bit, progress is being made. Newby remains optimistic that the state’s broadband build will wrap up by the end of 2027, putting North Dakota in the best possible position to be first.
“I’m keeping my eye on the prize,” he says. “And I’m deciding to enjoy every moment in the meantime.”
That ability to enjoy the journey is perhaps part of what makes Newby such a good fit for NDIT. Ask him what he likes most about his job, and he’ll tell you it’s the marriage of everything he’s done before. Broadband draws on his telecom background at Sprint, his PR instincts, the implementation muscle he built over a decade of running elections, and everything in between.
But what especially stands out is NDIT’s culture. Compared with the high-stakes, high-pressure world of elections, for example, Newby says NDIT feels “night and day.” He loves that everyone here looks after one another and assumes positive intent. It’s refreshing.
It also shows up in the way leadership trusts the Broadband team to make decisions and stands behind them, while still serving as a sounding board when needed. That kind of trust and support isn’t something Newby takes for granted.
“I can easily say that I’ve had more support at NDIT than any other job,” he says.
It’s one reason NDIT has been named a Top 10 Workplace by the Bismarck-Mandan Young Professionals Network two years running, a recognition Newby says reflects what he experiences firsthand. Add in the State of North Dakota’s strong benefits package, and it’s easy to see why he tells people, without hesitation, that NDIT is worth their time.
At the end of the day, few people in state government can speak as fluently—or as passionately—about carriers, fiber miles, and federal permitting timelines as Newby can. That’s why some around the office have taken to calling him “Broadband Brian.”
It fits.
From his home office in California, “Broadband Brian” is helping North Dakota close in on 100% broadband connectivity. It’s a long-distance job that keeps him connected to the state—and moving full speed ahead.
Home Is Where the Fiber Is
Log onto a video call with Newby, and you won’t find a blurred-out kitchen or a fake tropical beach behind him. He’d rather show his real home office—“zero out of 10 on Rate My Room,” he jokes—than sit before a digital backdrop.
It’s a space that says a lot about him.
Shelves of business books line the walls. Running medals hang from a rack that Newby’s daughter gave him. Kansas City Royals memorabilia nods to his hometown team and lifelong love of the game.
And then there’s the license plate on the wall behind him, the one people notice on every call. The trinket that says everything you need to know about Brian Newby.
“LUV ND.”