The Office of Broadband Development reports…
The Office of Broadband Development announced the first round of Line Extension Connection Program awards on a rolling basis beginning Oct. 6, 2023 and ending November 9, 2023. The first round of the program awarded $4,395,257.45 to expand wired broadband delivering at least 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload to 843 locations across 32 counties. Of these locations, 779 are residences and 64 are businesses. Internet providers carrying out the projects matched $2,225,747.14 for a total investment of $6,621,004.59.
Round 1 Line Extension Awards by Internet Provider
| Provider | Locations | Grant Amount |
| Arvig – East Ottertail Tel | 26 | $172,220.48 |
| Arvig – Loretel Systems, Inc. | 7 | $65,841.18 |
| Arvig – Osakis Telephone Co. | 9 | $24,756.40 |
| Arvig – Redwood County Tel | 1 | $20,222.99 |
| Arvig – Tekstar | 74 | $542,433.10 |
| Arvig – Twin Valley Ulen Tel | 1 | $17,087.56 |
| Bevcomm | 11 | $85,734.78 |
| Consolidated Tel Co. (CTC) | 282 | $1,005,949.81 |
| Farmers Mutual Telephone Co. | 1 | $4,800.00 |
| Federated REA Coop. | 29 | $62,263.25 |
| Federated Telephone Coop. | 15 | $138,000.00 |
| Hiawatha Broadband Comm. (HBC) | 205 | $1,323,626.82 |
| Johnson Telephone | 1 | $24,010.44 |
| Mediacom | 37 | $190,501.15 |
| Midco Midcontinent Comm. | 21 | $166,800.00 |
| Otter Tail Telecom | 4 | $38,361.70 |
| Paul Bunyan Telephone Co. | 10 | $86,286.00 |
| Savage Communications Inc (SCI) | 104 | $354,445.72 |
| Sytek Communications | 4 | $57,348.00 |
| Wikstrom Tel Co. (Wiktel) | 1 | $14,568.07 |
| 20 Providers | 843 | $4,395,257.45 |
Round 1 Line Extension Awards by County
View the map of Round 1 Locations
| County | Locations |
| Aitkin | 65 |
| Anoka | 3 |
| Becker | 34 |
| Big Stone | 1 |
| Carlton | 11 |
| Cass | 6 |
| Clay | 21 |
| Crow Wing | 183 |
| Dakota | 67 |
| Douglas | 9 |
| Goodhue | 6 |
| Hubbard | 28 |
| Itasca | 7 |
| Jackson | 27 |
| Kandiyohi | 12 |
| Kittson | 1 |
| Lac qui Parle | 1 |
| Le Sueur | 3 |
| Mahnomen | 12 |
| Martin | 2 |
| Morrison | 4 |
| Otter Tail | 21 |
| Pine | 36 |
| Redwood | 1 |
| Rice | 3 |
| Scott | 5 |
| St. Louis | 67 |
| Swift | 2 |
| Todd | 55 |
| Wabasha | 97 |
| Washington | 18 |
| Winona | 35 |
| 32 Counties | 843 |