NCTA reports…

Extending broadband to rural corners of the U.S. presents a number of challenges, including rugged terrain, difficult economics, and geographic hurdles, just to name a few. Despite these difficulties, America’s broadband providers have been extending their networks to the farthest corners of the country. Many ISPs have been hard at work for years, investing their own money and resources to connect rural communities. Mediacom’s recent network expansion in Minnesota is just one example of these efforts.

In Lakewood Township, Minnesota, a town of about 2,000 people near the shores of Lake Superior, residents and the local government came together with a proposal to Mediacom to extend its nearby network to the sparsely populated corner of Saint Louis County. The ISP was eager to work with such an engaged community and, after assessing the situation, decided to go ahead with extending its network to offer fiber to the home using its own private capital, foregoing an offer from the county to chip in $400k.