Category Archives: FTTH

Breitung Township Board get broadband update: some areas up by mid-summer, take rate is good (St Louis County)

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The Timberjay reports…

Breitung Township Board Chair Matt Tuchel gave an update on broadband internet at the township’s monthly meeting held Feb. 17.
Tuchel reported that he recently met with representatives from CTC, Lake Country Power, IRRR, CBDG, and representatives from other local municipalities, and that the new internet connections installed last summer will be up and running for Breitung residents along McKinley Park Rd. by mid-summer. He said that just under 50 percent of residents chose to connect to the service, a higher percentage than other townships.
Tuchel said that there are 250 poles within Breitung Township that need to be replaced as part of the broadband project. The current poles can’t handle the addition of the new fiberoptic lines. This is in areas where the broadband cables cannot be buried due to ledge rock, for example. Lake Country Power will not pay for pole replacement but will be stringing the fiber lines on the new poles.
A study, with an estimated cost of $175,000, will be needed to determine pole replacement. IRRR will cover 50 percent of the cost, and three townships — Greenwood, Beatty, and Breitung — would share the remaining cost. Bois Forte is planning to apply for a NTIA grant to cover the cost for pole replacements and other costs to complete this broadband expansion. Total funding needed may be as high as $6 million.
The places identified that need poles are Echo Pt. Rd., Carol Ln., Swamp Rd., and Echo Narrows Ln. The other areas that weren’t addressed that still need service will have fiber laid underground, including McKinley Park Acres Rd., Miettunen Plat Rd., and a portion of Echo Pt Rd.
Tuchel said that broadband service will be discussed further at the township’s annual meeting and invited residents to weigh in on the issue.

A look at fiber consolidation in MN, especially the Twin Cities

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Twin Cities Business reports…

Minnesota is once again directly experiencing big changes in the tech sector. In addition to data center construction (and controversy), the state has become a major-league playing field for fiber optic industry consolidation.

In February, AT&T made itself a major fiber player in the Twin Cities metro by closing on its acquisition of Quantum Fiber, the consumer fiber business operated by Louisiana-based Lumen Technologies. (Lumen also is the parent company of telecom provider CenturyLink, which continues to operate.)

AT&T acquired Quantum Fiber via Gigapower, a joint venture it established in 2022 with New York-based BlackRock, the world’s largest institutional asset manager. (BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners subsidiary acquired Duluth-based electric utility Allete last October.)

This deal follows on the heels of two other fiber company acquisitions. In January, Verizon purchased Dallas-based Frontier Communications, which offers fiber connectivity in the Twin Cities region and elsewhere in the state. And last September, Indiana-based Metronet acquired Minnetonka-based U.S. Internet (USI), which provided high-speed internet to about 140,000 commercial and residential customers in and around the Twin Cities. At the time of its USI purchase, Metronet also delivered fiber connectivity to parts of the metro, along with customers in Owatonna, Faribault, and Rochester. Like Gigapower, Metronet is a joint venture between a telecom and a large investment firm—in this case, T-Mobile and KKR, respectively.

It’s happening all over the state…

Indeed, parts of Greater Minnesota are further along in developing high-speed fiber networks. “I have a number of members that have completed fiber-to-the-premises installations already,” says Brent Christensen, president and CEO of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, a Madelia-headquartered trade association that represents 40 Minnesota telecommunications companies, most of which are smaller providers in Greater Minnesota. “And the vast majority are either done or just about done building out fiber.”

It’s not only small-town telecoms that are installing fiber. This month, the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota began construction on a fiber optic expansion project intended to connect more than 2,000 Tribal residents. (Also in the Great North: Iowa-based ImOn Communications recently announced plans to build a fiber network in Duluth. This would be ImOn’s first foray into Minnesota.)

Hiawatha Broadband Communications to bring fiber to Southeast MN (Winona, Goodhue, Wabasha & Dakota Counties)

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TV News Check reports…

Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC) announced Tuesday it is expanding its multi-gig Flight Fiber internet service, offering symmetrical speeds of up to 5 Gig to residential and business customers across Southeast Minnesota.

The expansion makes HBC the only provider in the region capable of delivering such speeds, according to the company. The 2026 deployments are currently bringing multi-gig fiber to several communities, including Winona, Red Wing, Lake City, Farmington, Hastings and Empire.

The service, branded as Flight Fiber, provides symmetrical 2 Gig and 5 Gig options. The company said the increased capacity is designed to handle high-demand activities such as 4K streaming, online gaming, and large file transfers across multiple devices simultaneously.

Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) expands broadband to Clinton Township (St Louis County)

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Hometown Focus reports…

Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) expanded its broadband fiber optic network to approximately 400 unserved or underserved locations in Clinton Township and adjacent areas, including homes, businesses and farms.

All locations have a minimum service offering available of 250 megabits per second download and upload, with services of 10 gigabits per second download and upload available. Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRR) supported the project with a $1,150,000 Broadband Infrastructure grant to CTC. The total project investment was $5,400,000.

Joe Buttweiler is CTC’s chief strategy officer. He explained that access to broadband is as imperative today as electricity was 75 years ago. A reliable fiber optic network is the backbone necessary to provide rural residents, small businesses, teleworkers and farmers with access to the benefits of unlimited bandwidth, cost efficiency and reliability.

Prior to this project, many residents in the Clinton Township area did not have access to quality or affordable internet service for everyday needs.

The project also received a $2,624,187 Border to-Border Broadband Development Grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and a $400,000 grant from St. Louis County.

Bluepeak to invest $35 million in FTTH in southwest Minnesota

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Marshall Radio reports…

Bluepeak has announced a $35 million investment to expand and upgrade its fiber-optic broadband network in southwest Minnesota.

The project will overbuild the company’s existing infrastructure with Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) technology, providing internet speeds of up to 5 gigabits per second for residential customers and up to 10 gigabits per second for businesses. The expansion is intended to improve reliability and increase network capacity across the region.

Bluepeak has also expanded backbone capacity, upgraded key network components and strengthened overall infrastructure across its Minnesota footprint to support growing digital demands.

Broadband expanded to nearly 400 households, businesses and farms in Clinton Township

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From the IRRR Ranger newsletter…

Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) expanded its broadband fiber optic network to approximately 400 unserved or underserved locations in Clinton Township and adjacent areas, including homes, businesses and farms. All locations have a minimum service offering available of 250 mbps download and upload, with services of 10 Gbps download and upload available. Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation supported the project with a $1,150,000 Broadband Infrastructure grant to CTC. Total project investment was $5,400,000.

Joe Buttweiler is CTC’s chief strategy officer. He explained that access to broadband is as imperative today as electricity was 75 years ago. A reliable fiber optic network is the backbone necessary to provide rural residents, small businesses, teleworkers and farmers with access to the benefits of unlimited bandwidth, cost efficiency and reliability. Prior to this project, many residents in the Clinton Township area did not have access to quality or affordable internet service for everyday needs.

The project also received a $2,624,187 Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development and a $400,000 grant from St. Louis County.

“In today’s world, reliable internet connectivity has become almost as important as other forms of infrastructure,” said St. Louis County Commissioner Keith Nelson. “It represents access for businesses, students and everyone else seeking information or services online. So I’m pleased St. Louis County could dedicate ARPA funds in support of this project serving our residents in Clinton Township.”

Email Whitney Ridlon or call her at 218-735-3004 for Broadband Infrastructure grant information.

Note: CTC is a member-owned cooperative established in 1952 and based in Brainerd, with additional offices in Baxter and Crosby. It has 16,000 residential and business members and 75 employees that serve as local support teams across northern Minnesota. It originated as a telephone service provider and has since added television and internet services for homes, businesses, cabins and apartment buildings throughout Minnesota. Learn more about CTC.

Paul Bunyan Communications completes broadband expansion in City of Bovey (Itasca County)

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From Paul Bunyan Communications…

Paul Bunyan Communications has completed expanding its all-fiber optic network, the GigaZone®, to the city of Bovey that included over 350 homes and businesses. Those who have signed up for service are being contacted to set up service installation.
“We’re proud to complete our all-fiber optic gigabit broadband expansion to the City of Bovey. High-quality connectivity is no longer a luxury, it’s essential. With this project now complete, residents and businesses in Bovey can access the advanced broadband services they need to thrive,” said Chad Bullock, CEO/General Manager of Paul Bunyan Communications.
“This expansion marks a major step forward for the Bovey community,” said Leo Anderson, Chief Technology Officer at Paul Bunyan Communications. “With our all-fiber optic network now delivering speeds up to 10 Gig, everything from remote work and online learning to telehealth and streaming becomes seamless. This level of connectivity is truly transformative.”
Anyone interested in getting connected to the all-fiber optic broadband network in these areas can still sign up for service. The cooperative will return to bring the network up to locations with no construction fee when feasible.
There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications, membership is included by subscribing to either local phone service or GigaZone® Internet service.
To check to see if a specific location is within an expansion area and learn more about the expansion construction process, visit www.gigazone.com

Broadband expansion completed in Balkan (St Louis County)

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The Mesabi Tribune reports...

Paul Bunyan Communications has completed expanding its all-fiber optic network, the GigaZone, to Balkan Township in St. Louis County, the company announced earlier this week.

The expansion included over 550 homes and business, and those who have signed up for service are being contacted to set up service installation.

“We’re excited to bring our all-fiber optic gigabit broadband expansion to completion in Balkan Township. In a world where high-quality connectivity is essential, not a luxury, this project ensures that the Balkan Township residents and businesses have the advanced broadband services they need to grow and flourish,” Chad Bullock, CEO/General Manager of Paul Bunyan Communications said.

This project is made possible through the Low Density Population Grant Program through the state of Minnesota. This project is estimated to cost $7,526,055, with the State of Minnesota’s Low-Population Density Program grant contributing $5,569,28, Paul Bunyan Communications investing $1,881,513, Angora Township $33,104, and Balkan Township $42,157.

Broadband makes Pine County’s Top 20 2025 list

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The Pine City Review posts the Year-in-Review 2025. Actions related to broadband make the list…

County offers letter of support, financial contribution to proposed broadband project

Pine County Commissioners agreed to send a letter in support to Minnesota Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) on behalf of Mediacom Broadband, which is seeking to expand broadband access for residents in Pine County through grant funding.

 

Willmar Council considers awarding bid for Willmar Connect in January

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The West Central Tribune reports…

The Willmar City Council on Dec. 15 heard an update on the Willmar Connect initiative from City Operations Director Kyle Box, who said awarding of the bid for the project should be ready for consideration in January.

Willmar City Council is expected to consider awarding the bid for the Willmar Connect initiative at its first meeting in January 2026, according to Willmar City Operations Director Kyle Box.

Box provided an update on the Willmar Connect initiative at the Dec. 15 meeting of the City Council.

The Willmar Connect initiative is the city’s plan to construct a citywide, city-owned, open-access fiber broadband network. The city will own the infrastructure and Hometown Fiber will operate and manage the network on which multiple internet service providers can operate.

The various ISPs operating on the system will pay fees to the city, which will be used to service the debt and interest on approximately $24.5 million in bonds issued to pay for its construction.

Klobuchar Announces Federal Funding for Minnesota Broadband Infrastructure

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I mentioned this news over the weekend, but it’s fun to see more folks post about it, especially Senator Klobuchar…

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee and co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, announced that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Minnesota’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Final Proposal. Minnesota received $652 million in funding to implement its BEAD proposal.

“I’m thrilled to announce that Minnesota’s broadband funding proposal has been approved, which will bring fast, affordable, reliable internet to families in every corner of our state,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This funding is available thanks to my bipartisan legislation that I fought to pass so that Minnesota families—regardless of their ZIP code—have access to high-speed internet.”

“This BEAD milestone represents a major step forward in our commitment to ensuring every Minnesotan — regardless of geography — has access to reliable, high quality broadband,” said Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Matt Varilek. “Minnesota extends its sincere appreciation to the many Internet service providers and partners across the state who worked alongside us to shape this proposal. Their dedication, expertise and willingness to engage deeply in this effort have been essential to reaching this point. With this BEAD approval, Minnesota is one step closer to closing the digital divide and building a more connected future for all.”

This development advances Minnesota’s affordable broadband rollout to unserved and underserved areas of the state.

Klobuchar has long led efforts to expand broadband access, support rural broadband, and bridge the digital divide.

Klobuchar’s Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act was incorporated into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and has delivered significant federal funding to Minnesota for expanding high-speed internet access statewide.

In June 2023, Klobuchar announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce had awarded major federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bring reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access to every household in Minnesota. The Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act, Klobuchar’s legislation with then-House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) to expand high-speed internet nationwide, served as the basis for the program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

In March 2023, Klobuchar and Senators John Thune (R-SD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to expand broadband access to rural communities. The Reforming Broadband Connectivity Act would strengthen funding mechanisms for the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF), which promotes universal access to broadband and other telecommunications services. Currently, the USF is primarily funded through landline fees, disproportionately impacting seniors, who are more likely to use landlines than other Americans.

In February 2023, Klobuchar introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to strengthen broadband access for rural communities. The Rural Broadband Protection Act would ensure that providers applying for federal funding can reliably deliver broadband to underserved, rural communities.

In July 2021, Klobuchar introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to expand rural broadband access by streamlining the funding process and removing barriers for broadband connectivity in hard-to-serve rural areas.

 

Fiber supply threatens US broadband targets

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Light Reading reports…

Warnings about a US fiber crunch that could slow down broadband deployment have intensified since the summer. In August, Incab America, a Texan maker of fiber-optic cable, notified customers that “a significant fiber shortage is emerging” in a statement signed by Mike Riddle, its president, who blamed data centers for “sucking up all the fiber production capacity.” The situation reminded him of 2000, when lead times lengthened to a year. They have now risen to the same level, said a separate industry source who requested anonymity.

That compares with normal lead times of between eight and 12 weeks, according to the same source. Even when there is some tightness in the supply chain, they never usually exceed 15 to 20 weeks, he said. But a wave of investment in data centers, built to train AI’s large language models (LLMs), has quickly gobbled supplies of glass and other materials used in fiber-optic cables. “The three leading glass manufacturers in the United States are experiencing challenges in meeting this heightened demand,” observed Riddle in August. “Notably, one manufacturer has already sold all of its fiber inventory through the year 2026.”

Policies may also have an impact…

Yet surging demand from AI data centers is not the only problem. Sourcing components from overseas has also become harder because of the tariff restrictions Trump has slapped on imports of foreign goods. There is some industry frustration, too, about the need to comply with the rules of the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act signed into law by Joe Biden, Trump’s White House predecessor, in November 2021.

Under BABA’s provisions, initiatives are ineligible for government financial aid “unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States.” That has ramifications for companies participating in the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which draws on government funds to extend network coverage into hard-to-reach and underserved communities.

What are the economic benefits of broadband to a household?

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I’m bringing back an old tradition – looking at how much money broadband can save a household right before the holidays set in. I’m bringing back the old tradition with a new spin, I’m using ChatGPT. Something old; something new.

I started with a search on [how much money does a household with broadband save or earn?].

It pulled up some good articles, but they were dated. I will let my age (or Master’s degree in Library and Information Science) show when I admit that I want links to article, not cite-less answers. But I moved forward asking for updated information. Below are the results:

Turns out that much of what I found interesting was from the same research: Economic Benefits of Fiber Deployment, a report prepared for Fiber Broadband Association and Frontier Communications from Nov 2024. The focus is on fiber over all other broadband modes – but was the best I could find in terms of specific saving and earning numbers.

Here’s the quick description of part of the research…

Our study is the first to show that fiber deployment has significant incremental economic benefits even in the presence of other high-speed broadband technologies.

The report looks at broadband savings/earning from the household and national perspective. I thought I’d pull out the details by household.

Related to real estate:

  • It could increase average household values between 14% – 17% depending on
    non-urban versus urban areas.
  • This translates to an average increase of $27,000 – $41,000 per house per year.
  • The effect on housing values in non-urban areas is fives times greater than in
    urban areas and is driven by the greater number of unserved households in non
    urban areas.

Earning:

  • The income effect comes from non-urban areas. U.S. households in non-urban
    areas with new access to fiber will likely experience an increase in their average
    income by $1,450 in one year.

Community Employment:

  • Access to fiber incrementally increases the employment rate by a small but measurable 0.74%. This is equivalent to a 0.5% increase in employment.
  • For a city such as Detroit, with a labor force of approximately 356,408 people,
    deploying fiber to all the unserved households would create 36 new jobs.
  • For a small rural town such as Iron Mountain, Michigan, with a labor force of approximately 4,363 people, deploying fiber to all the unserved households would
    create at least 14 new jobs.

Mediacom Communications today announces multi-gig broadband in Blue Earth, Brown, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Scott, Waseca, Watonwan Counties and Lower Sioux Reservation

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CBS 42 reports…

Mediacom Communications today announced the launch of multi-gig and symmetrical-speed broadband services to more than 28,000 households across 13 counties in rural Minnesota. The network upgrades extend to residents in the communities of Pemberton, Lake Crystal, Springfield, Sleepy Eye, Mountain Lake, Montgomery, Silver Lake, Lester Prairie, Dassel, Darwin, Litchfield, Lafayette, North Redwood, Redwood Falls, Lower Sioux, Hector, Franklin, Morton, Buffalo Lake, Bird Island, Danube, Veseli, Lonsdale, Belle Plaine, Waldorf, Janesville, Butterfield, and St. James.

Minnesota applies for $1 billion for health care support including telehealth

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The Minnesota Star Tribune reports…

A $1 billion grant to improve rural health care won’t offset the much bigger losses from looming cuts to the federal Medicaid health program, but Minnesota wasn’t going to miss out on its chance for the money.

The state completed its application on time last week for the rural health transformation funding, which President Donald Trump’s administration and congressional Republicans offered to soften the blow of Medicaid cuts. Wisconsin similarly announced its appeal for funding.

“This is a lot of money,” said Diane Rydrych, health policy director for the Minnesota Department of Health. “It’s really significant for Minnesota if we get this grant, but it’s also a really tough time. It’s not going to be sufficient funding to address all needs.”

Next up: an unsettling wait. Minnesota should find out in the next month if it will receive its share.

Each state applied for $200 million per year for five years, but the actual amount could vary. Some have worried Republican-led states could have an advantage, given Trump’s rhetoric against Democrats and actions in Democrat-led cities and states, such as military deployments and immigration crackdowns.

Sonds as if the funding could be used for telehealth…

Other goals in the next five years include an increase in telehealth medical appointments and a 10% reduction in rural Minnesotans who return to hospitals with avoidable problems. Essentia Health employs paramedics who visit with patients and help prevent their hospital readmissions, though it has made cuts to the program.

The federal government billed the funding as one-time support for five years, so Rydrych said the state focused its application on up-front investments that could pay off after the money runs dry. Technology upgrades to boost telemedicine visits were one example.