Broadband Breakfast reports…

In a Thursday webinar sponsored by Broadband Communities, Jon Radermacher, city administrator of Little Falls, Minnesota, detailed how incumbent providers inflating the speeds they offered in Little Falls resulted in the city being ineligible to compete for federal funds. …

The issue facing Little Falls is a problem facing cities all over the country, as the Federal Communications Commission is set to allocate more than three-quarters of the $20.4 billion fund based on inaccurate information.

“The city didn’t qualify for FCC funding because the maps said the city was served,” said Radermacher. “However, the service available was not adequate or high speed, [and] the networks weren’t robust or reliable.”

So they came up with a Plan B…

Forced to seek alternative funding solutions, city leaders turned to a private partnership with CTC, or Consolidated Telecommunications Company, a Minnesota-based advising company that works with utilities, municipalities and government entities to assist in building fiber networks.

“More cities are saying we need to do this now more than ever” said Joe Buttweiler, partnership development manager at CTC. “You have no time to lose.” …

Today, Little Falls’ fiber backbone has expanded from the town’s business quarter, through its downtown region, to its school district. Radermacher said he was “excited to find ways to connect residential customers next.”