I heard some good news from the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group…

Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group Proceeds to Phase Two of the American Recovery and Investment Act

Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group, Windomnet and U-reka Broadband Ventures is pleased that the RUS has determined the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group application is qualified to proceed to phase two of funding evaluation. We believe the project is strong for many reasons including the partnership of the member communities, the participation of a strong provider in Windomnet and local champions who believe that broadband is the future lifeblood of their communities. We want to especially thank the city officials, U-reka Broadband and city staff who contributed to the success of this effort, there are truly too many champions to name from all nine communities that came together to make this possible.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact Dan Olsen 507.832.8007 or Dano@windoment.com  

U-reka Broadband Ventures provided business plan analysis, engineering and operational planning and prepared the application for the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group. U-reka Broadband provides consulting services to Service Providers, Local Units of Government, Tribal Governments and Private Businesses to solve their fiber connectivity and bandwidth needs. More information on U-reka Broadband Ventures can be found at www.u-rekabroadband.com  or contact John Schultz at 651 967-7196.

Congrats!! I have heard of at least one other applicant that had gotten the call up to the big game. So apparently the NTIA/RUS are in town with their talent scouts. For those of us with applications in the hopper, I had to ask how they heard and about the next step.

John Schultz told me that they received a fax last night and for phase 2, they have 30 days to provide the following:
• Technology Description
• Buildout Schedule
• Licenses, Approvals and Agreements
• Environmental Materials
• Commitment of Capital Funding
• Service Level Objectives
• Legal Documents