Late November, Afton expressed disappointment in not receiving funding from the Minnesota Broadband Fund. They were not happy that funds went to rural areas. It seems like CenturyLink heard their cry. According to the Woodbury Bulletin…

It’s looking like there’s a strong possibility that every home in Afton will have high-speed Internet access by the end of the fall.

They have come up with a plan for public private partnership…

Homes in the western part of Afton qualify for high-speed Internet hookup through the federal Connect America Fund (CAF).

The Federal Telecommunications Fund awarded about $500 million in CAF funding to CenturyLink to assist in bringing high-speed Internet to nearly 1.2 million rural households in 33 states.

The thought, Ross said, is that the CAF money will take care of a chunk of the residents who are without Internet, while the city, and CenturyLink, could cover the rest.

During last week’s meeting Ross indicated that CenturyLink has agreed to continue with its $125,000 matching funding commitment and they are optimistic in the project being completed.
“It was very good news,” he said.

The article leaves some questions open for me – but the community seems pretty focused…

If everything goes according to plan, and it should Ross said, CenturyLink will start installing about 15 DSLAMS in the spring.

The fiberoptic cables to connect the DSLAMs will most likely run down Neal Avenue almost all the way Hastings, Ross said.

So, by the end of this fall 100 percent of Afton residents will have high-speed Internet.
“I made it very clear to CenturyLink that it’s a program where everyone had to benefit,” Ross said, “or there will be hell to pay.”