Hometown Source reports…

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development is awarding approximately $98,750 to deliver broadband infrastructure to 68 households and one business in northwest Dakota County, including portions of Apple Valley and Lakeville – all which lack access to qualifying broadband service today, according to a news release from Rep. John Huot’s office.

More info on the project…

As a result of this broadband grant, Spectrum Mid-America, managed by Charter Communications Inc., will improve broadband service levels, exceeding 2026 state speed goals. The high bandwidth broadband access will assist residents with remote learning and remote working, accommodate members of a household or small business simultaneously using bandwidth-intensive applications, such as video conferencing, telemedicine, video streaming, gaming, virtual or augmented reality sessions, and numerous other applications, the release said. The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program was created in 2014. The legislative focus of this grant program is to provide financial resources that help make the business case for new and existing providers to invest in building broadband infrastructure into unserved and underserved areas of the state. The Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program has been funded with state general fund revenues and a combination of both state general fund revenues and the federal American Rescue Plan Act, according to the release.