Just got word from the Office of Broadband Development…
This coming Monday, July 31, is the deadline for potential broadband grant applicants to notify existing wireline broadband providers in their proposed grant project area of their intention to file a grant application.
Potential applicants are required, by statute, to do this a pre-application notification. And they must do so on or before July 31, 2017 (at least six weeks before the application filing deadline of September 11, 2017).
Templates and other info/instructions for notification letters are provided in the grant application document. Here’s are high level details from the Grant website.
Application Process
For the 2017 Border-to-Border Broadband Grant application, the legislature appropriated $20 million in funding. The application period for the 2017 grants program is July 3, 2017 through 4:00 p.m. on Monday, September 11, 2017.
- Application, including the scoring criteria
Potential applicants are again required to do a pre-application notification to all existing wireline broadband providers in or near their proposed project area.- List of broadband providers by county
- A list of the largest broadband providers in the state, with contact information, is included in Appendix III of the application.
If you have any other questions, you can email the Broadband office at deed.broadband@state.mn.us or look through the Broadband Grant Program FAQs. FAQs will be updated throughout the grant application process as new questions come in.
I encourage folks to pre-apply! A grant is a game changer when you’re creating a business plan. Applications for funding are an indicator to legislators of interest and need for funding. The folks at the Office of Broadband Development could not be kinder! So if you have any questions you can contact them.