Lake County did not receive funding in Round One; they are working on an application for Round Two. Here’s the word from the Lake County News Chronicle on their situation:

“We’re obviously disappointed we didn’t get in on the first round,” said Gary Fields of National Public Broadband, the group working with the county on the project. He said the second chance of funding is more for “last-mile” projects like the one in Lake County, meaning service directly to homes. The first round was for building the basic network.

County Commissioner Paul Bergman doesn’t consider the rejection a “big deal.” He said the second round suits the plan better. Fields said the strength of project is improved because the addition of places like Duluth Township and areas around Ely will show a better chance of economic growth.

The project would connect homes and businesses on the electrical grid with television, internet and phone services.

The Northeast Service Co-operative also has plans for a broadband infrastructure project that focuses on entities such as schools and libraries and connecting them through broadband. Bergman said if that gets funded, it would help with the counties emergency service management.