The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus reports…

The Office of Broadband Development (OBD) recently announced the first round of Broadband Line Extension Connection Program awards, which provides nearly $4.4 million to expand wired broadband throughout Minnesota. Internet providers carrying out the projects matched the state funding at $2.2 million, bringing the total investment to more than $6.6 million….

This funding will deliver 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–21 of which are in Senate District 9.

“Back in 2022, when I was in the House of Representatives, I served as the chief sponsor of legislation to establish the Broadband Line Extension Connection Program,” said Senator Jordan Rasmusson (R-Fergus Falls). “This is a cost-effective approach to closing internet gaps throughout the state. With the first round of funding now complete, I am thrilled to see so many households and businesses utilize this resource. The Office of Broadband will be facilitating more grant rounds in the future, and I look forward to seeing the continued success of this program.”

It is often expensive for broadband service providers to extend their fiber optic cables to underserved households and businesses, as they are mostly in rural communities. That is why the Broadband Line Extension Connection Program, which was established through Sen. Rasmusson’s HF3605, extends broadband service through a reverse auction process. This means OBD selects broadband provider bids that request the least amount of financial support to fund broadband line extension projects.