The West Central Tribune reports…

A project to provide broadband service to underserved areas in Renville County is on track for a June 2019 completion.

Work should be getting underway this week to install an underground, fiber-optic cable along a leg of the network near Sacred Heart, Ben Ranft, general manager of Renville Sibley Fiber/Hiawatha Broadband Communications, told the Renville County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday.

RS Fiber/HBC is a cooperative that was formed to provide broadband service to Sibley County and rural portions of Renville County. Now in its third year, the cooperative serves 2,000 homes and businesses, most located in Sibley County, according to a report by Broadband Communities magazine.

The state’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program awarded a $865,000 grant for the Renville County portion of the project. The grant calls for providing service to 193 underserved households, 99 underserved businesses and three community anchor institutions in portions of the townships of Preston Lake, Boon Lake, Brookfield, Osceola, Kingman, Winfield, Crooks, Erickson, Sacred Heart, Emmet, Flor, Henryville, Norfolk, Birch Cooley, Camp and Cairo.

The total project cost is estimated at $2 million or more, according to Ranft.