Morningstar reports…

Arvig has been awarded a grant from the state of Minnesota’s Border to Border Broadband Program to expand fiber internet access to more than 100 rural homes and businesses in central Minnesota.

Arvig will invest its grant award of $708,790 into a 26 route-mile fiber network expansion project to bring gigabit internet speeds to 113 structures in Wakefield and Luxemburg townships, south of Cold Spring, Minn.

When complete, 46 unserved and 67 underserved locations will have access to fiber internet for the first time. The network will offer up to 10 Gigabit-per-second download speeds (1 Gbps upload) and up to 10 Gbps for businesses.

“It’s becoming increasingly important for homes and businesses in rural Minnesota to have access to fiber with gig-level speeds,” said David Arvig, Vice President and COO at Arvig. “This grant funding helps Arvig close the connectivity gap and put underserved areas on a level playing field.”

The total cost of the project is $1,575,089 and includes local matching funds of $866,299. Of the matching funds, Stearns County and the Townships will contribute $661,537, with Arvig covering the remaining $204,762. …

The project is on target for completion before Dec. 31, 2026.