The Minnesota Broadband Task Force Report 2022 is out. The chair of the Task Force Teddy Bekele presented it to the MN House Agriculture Finance and Policy committee meeting today (Jan 17, 2023).
They have recommended annual funding for the Border to Border grants through 2026 to meet the speed goals of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. According to the chart (show below) the cost to the State would be $273,784,250 per biennial (for two years, which is the legislative cycle) if the grant match continues to be 50 percent. That number increases to $569,773,625 with a 75 percent match.
They have also recommended that the cap per award be lifted from $5 million to $8 million to allow for larger projects and cover the increasing cost to reach the households that are hardest to reach.
The other recommendations include:
- Mapping
- Affordability
- Adoption Goals
- Usage and Navigation
Details are included in the report.
Blandin on Broadband 