Category Archives: MN Broadband Fund Awards

Details on MN Broadband Grant Awards Round 10 (Oct 2024)

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Here’s the official announcement from the Office of Governor Walz on the recent broadband awards…

Governor Tim Walz today announced $52 million in grants to expand broadband access to an estimated 7,700 homes and businesses throughout Minnesota.

“Investing in broadband infrastructure benefits businesses and communities across the state,” said Governor Walz. “By connecting thousands of Minnesotans to businesses, education, and health care through broadband, we’re making Minnesota the best place to work, live, and do business.”

Earlier this year, Governor Walz announced over $50 million to expand broadband access to an estimated 8,900 homes and businesses throughout Minnesota. In May 2023, Governor Walz signed legislation providing $100 million to the state’s broadband grant funding program for the biennium.

“Broadband is an essential resource that gives Minnesota an economic competitive edge and provides more choices on where to work and live,” said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. “It bolsters communities’ efforts to not only promote business attraction and expansion, but also empowers existing businesses with the many benefits that high-speed service can provide.” 

The grant awards announced today will help broadband providers expand high-speed broadband service in 24 counties across Minnesota. The grants come from two DEED programs:

  • $25 million from DEED’s flagship Border-to-Border Broadband Program, through which broadband provider grantees are reimbursed for up to half the eligible cost of deploying broadband infrastructure, with funding for a single project capped at $10 million.
  • $27 million from the Low Population Density Program, which offers grants to providers building broadband service to areas of Minnesota with particularly low population densities and high broadband deployment costs. The grants can be worth up to $10 million and cover up to 75% of the total cost of a project.
    To date, DEED has awarded over $400 million in Border-to-Border or Low Population Density grants, providing broadband access to nearly 120,000 homes and businesses. Communities and internet service providers contributed over $48 million in matching funds for this grant round and over $400 million for all grant rounds to date.

DEED will continue administering nearly $652 million in federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding from the Biden-Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand broadband to the most unserved and underserved Minnesotans.

“Minnesota’s impressive broadband infrastructure progress and ongoing efforts are largely due to strong partnerships. As we celebrate this 10-year milestone, I want to thank our state leaders for appropriating the funds needed to continue this essential work and applaud our county and community leaders who recognized broadband’s value and provided the matching funds required to qualify for these state grants,” said Office of Broadband Development Executive Director Bree Maki. “I also want to commend our state’s broadband providers – from national names to small community co-ops and family-run businesses – who stepped forward to take on projects that are often challenging or located in the state’s most remote regions.”

And here are the details on all of the grant awarded projects…

County: Fillmore
Representative Gregory M. Davids, Senator Jeremy Miller
Ace Telephone Association Rural Canton
Grant: $2,567,200
Local Match: $3,850,800
Total Budget: $6,418,000
The Ace Telephone Association project will work to bring broadband services to southeastern Minnesota’s Filmore County, and rural areas around the community of Canton through Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) technology with data rates of up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) to each subscriber on the network. This project will bring service to 275 locations, 199 unserved and 76 served, consisting of 212 households, 24 businesses, and 39 farms.

County: Stearns
Representative Lisa Demuth, Senator Jeff Howe
Arvig Stearns County Wakefield & Luxemburg Area
Grant: $708,790
Local Match: $866,299
Total Budget: $1,575,089
The Arvig Stearns County Wakefield & Luxemburg Area project will serve locations in Stearns County around the Wakefield and Luxemburg area, bringing fiber-to-the-home up to 10 Gbps download speeds and 1 Gbps upload, and to 10 Gbps for businesses. This project will bring reliable, fast fiber internet to this area for the first time, opening opportunities for 113 locations, including 46 unserved and 67 underserved locations. Stearns County is contributing $661,537 towards this project.

County: Morrison
Representative Isaac Schultz, Senator Nathan Wesenberg
Benton Cooperative Telephone Company Buckman Township
Grant: $1,248,430
Local Match: $2,318,518
Total Budget: $3,566,948
The Benton Cooperative Telephone Company project will provide high-speed Broadband services to Buckman Township in Morrison County. Benton Cooperative Telephone Company currently provides high-speed Broadband to 5,850 customers of which 5,414 are served by fiber allowing them to have speeds of a minimum of 100/100 and a maximum of 1Gig/1Gig. This project will serve a total of 241 locations, including 190 unserved and 51 underserved locations.

County: Le Sueur
Representative Brian H. Pfarr, Senator Rich Draheim
Bevcomm Inc Tyrone Township Fiber Expansion Project
Grant: $1,101,801
Local Match: $367,267
Total Budget: $1,469,068
This Low Density Bevcomm Inc. Tyrone Township project will build underground fiber-to-the-premise technology that will enable data rates of up to 1Gbps (1,000Mbps) symmetrically to each subscriber on the network with unlimited data in Tyrone Township in Le Sueur County. This project will serve 148 unserved rural locations including 104 homes, 36 businesses, and 9 farms. Funding partner, Tyrone Township will be contributing $164,000 to this project.

County: Waseca
Representative Brian Daniels, Representative John Petersburg, Representative Peggy Bennett, Senator John R. Jasinski, Senator John R. Jasinski, Senator Gene Dornink
Bevcomm Inc Waseca County Fiber Expansion Project – Ph 2
Grant: $1,186,050
Local Match: $395,350
Total Budget: $1,581,400
This Low Density Bevcomm Inc Waseca County project will deploy underground fiber infrastructure across Alton, New Richland, and Saint Mary townships in rural Waseca County. This project will provide up to symmetrical Gigabit speeds with unlimited data to 163 homes, businesses, and farms, including 151 unserved and 12 underserved locations. Waseca County will be a funding partner for this project with a match amount of $165,000.

County: Faribault, Freeborn
Representative Bjorn Olson, Representative Peggy Bennett, Senator Rich Draheim, Senator Gene Dornink
Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company Faribault County Fiber Expansion Project – Final Phase
Grant: $1,779,163
Local Match: $5,337,488
Total Budget: $7,116,651
The Faribault County Fiber Expansion Project – Final Phase project will build an underground fiber network to serve the remaining unserved and underserved locations in Faribault county’s rural Wells and Blue Earth, offering speeds of up to a Gigabit symmetrically with unlimited data. This final phase, last mile project will impact a total of 543 addresses, of which 423 are unserved and 120 are underserved, and includes 205 homes, 59 businesses, and 279 farms. Faribault County EDA has pledged $5,000 toward this project.

County: Carlton
Representative Jeff Dotseth, Senator Jason Rarick
Consolidated Telephone Company CTC Round 10 Wrenshall Community Broadband Project
Grant: $2,127,530
Local Match: $2,127,530
Total Budget: $4,255,060
The Consolidated Telephone Company Round 10 Wrenshall Community Broadband project will provide fiber-to-the premise in 770 locations, of which 481 are unserved and 289 underserved. This project will support efforts of residents to work from home, keep up or continue their education, and for businesses to further their community’s vitality.

County: Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs
Representative Isaac Schultz, Representative Bryan Lawrence, Representative Brian Johnson, Senator Nathan Wesenberg, Senator Andrew Mathews, Senator Mark Koran
East Central Energy Mille Lacs Central
Grant: $3,267,902
Local Match: $5,111,333
Total Budget: $8,379,235
The East Central Energy Mille Lacs Central project will expand on ECE’s electric and broadband operations in East Central Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin, bringing state-of-the-art Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) technology to residents of Mille Lacs, Kanabec, and Isanti Counties. This project will serve a total of 659 locations, including 509 unserved and 150 underserved locations. Funding partners are; Isanti Couty $10,000, Kanabec County $900, Mille Lacs County $4,200, and South Fork Township $800, for a total partner contribution of $15,900.

County: Mille Lacs
Representative Ron Kresha, Senator Nathan Wesenberg
East Central Energy Mille Lacs North
Grant: $3,604,567
Local Match: $5,637,915
Total Budget: $9,242,482
The East Central Energy (ECE) Mille Lacs North project will expand on ECE’s electric and broadband operations in East Central Minnesota and Northwestern Wisconsin. This project will offer 100/100 Mbps, 250/250 Mbps, and 1 Gbps/1 Gbps service options to a total of 803 locations, 677 unserved and 126 underserved, consisting of 680 households, 101 businesses, and 22 farms. Funding partner are Mille Lacs County with a contribution of $15,800 and Page Township with a contribution of $8,000.

County: Martin
Representative Bjorn Olson, Senator Rich Draheim
Federated Rural Electric Association Martin County Low Density
Grant: $8,008,419
Local Match: $2,669,473
Total Budget: $10,677,892
This Low Density Federated Rural Electric Association in Martin County will see Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) Network to be built in rural Martin County. The project will enhance the quality of life and foster community growth for businesses, farmers, and residents at 457 locations, including 431 unserved and 26 underserved addresses. Funding partners include contributions from Martin County, Lake Belt Township, Rolling Green Township, for a total partner contribution of $800,842.

County: Clearwater, Mahnomen
Representative Matt Bliss, Senator Steve Green
Garden Valley Telephone Company 2024 Rural Mahnomen County
Grant: $4,626,012
Local Match: $1,542,008
Total Budget: $6,168,020
This Low Density Garden Valley Telephone Company in Mahnomen County project is a combination middle mile and last mile Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) which will serve locations within the borders of the White Earth Reservation in Mahnomen County. This project recognizes broadband has become essential to economic prosperity in the rural communities and would allow employees to work from home, provide children with access to homework and essential internet related research and improve access to telemedicine at 287 locations, of which 181 are unserved and 106 underserved. Partner funding total of $250, from local community members.

County: Olmsted
Representative Steven E. Jacob, Representative Duane Quam, Senator Steve Drazkowski,Senator Carla Nelson
Kasson & Mantorville Telephone Company Rural North Byron
Grant: $515,564
Local Match: $630,134
Total Budget: $1,145,699
The Kasson & Mantorville Telephone Company project will extend Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) capabilities to locations in rural Olmsted County, leveraging existing middle mile fiber and broadband backhaul. This project will enable delivery of up to 1 GB upstream and downstream for internet access with the ability to add additional GBs as needed, serving 83 locations, including 13 unserved locations and 70 underserved locations.

County: Nobles
Representative Marj Fogelman, Senator Bill Weber
Lismore Cooperative Telephone Co City of Bigelow FTTP
Grant: $208,598
Local Match: $486,730
Total Budget: $695,328
The Lismore Cooperative Telephone Co. project will see the establishment and operation of a Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) network, aimed at bridging the digital divide in the rural City of Bigelow, in Nobles County. The proposed project area encompasses approximately 4.16 miles of last mile buried fiber and fiber drop cabling, serving 113 locations, 19 of which are unserved and 94 underserved. Funding partners are Nobles County $35,000, and City of Bigelow $15,000.

County: St. Louis
Representative Liz Olson, Senator Jen McEwen
Mediacom LLC Lakewood Normanna
Grant: $145,000
Local Match: $526,325
Total Budget: $671,325
The Mediacom LLC Lakewood Normanna project will provide a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband solution to unserved and underserved homes, businesses, and community anchors in Normanna Township in St. Louis County. This project will provide speeds of 2,000 Mbps download and 1,000 Mbps upload to 60 underserved addresses. Funding Partners and their matches are; St. Louis County with $400,000 and Normanna Township with $5,000.

County: St. Louis
Representative Liz Olson, Senator Jen McEwen
Mediacom LLC Lakewood South
Grant: $232,800
Local Match: $543,200
Total Budget: $775,999
The Mediacom LLC Lakewood South project will provide a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband solution to unserved and underserved homes, businesses, and community anchors the southern portion of Lakewood Township in St. Louis County. This project will provide speeds of 2,000 Mbps download and 1,000 Mbps upload to 196 underserved addresses.

County: Kandiyohi
Representative Dave Baker, Senator Andrew R. Lang
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Gennessee Township
Grant: $662,430
Local Match: $809,637
Total Budget: $1,472,067
The Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Gennessee Township project will provide fiber-to-the premise broadband access to rural sites in Gennessee Township in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. This project will improve unserved/underserved levels of service up to 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds resulting in more efficient and effective e-learning, telemedicine options and enhanced precision agriculture tools to 167 locations, including 120 unserved and 47 underserved addresses. Kandiyohi County has pledged $327,692 and Gennessee Township has pledged $71,200 towards this project.

County: Stearns
Representative Lisa Demuth, Senator Jeff Howe
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Paynesville Township
Grant: $542,077
Local Match: $662,538
Total Budget: $1,204,615
The Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Paynesville Township project will provide fiber-to-the premise broadband access to rural sites in Paynesville Township in Stearns County, Minnesota. This project will improve unserved/underserved levels of service up to 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds resulting in more efficient and effective e-learning, telemedicine options and enhanced precision agriculture tools to 108 locations, including 102 unserved and 6 underserved addresses. Stearns County and Paynesville Township have pledged $357,845 towards this project.

County: Kandiyohi
Representative Dave Baker, Senator Andrew R. Lang
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association 58 – Kandiyohi Township
Grant: $744,965
Local Match: $910,513
Total Budget: $1,655,478
The Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Kandiyohi Township project will provide fiber-to-the premise broadband access to rural sites in Kandiyohi Township in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. This project will improve unserved/underserved levels of service up to 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds resulting in more efficient and effective e-learning, telemedicine options and enhanced precision agriculture tools to 188 locations, including 136 unserved and 52 underserved addresses. Kandiyohi County has pledged $224,000 and Kandiyohi Township has pledged $71,600 towards this project.

County: Wright
Representative Dawn Gillman, Senator Glenn Gruenhagen
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Cokato Township
Grant: $945,133
Local Match: $1,155,163
Total Budget: $2,100,296
The Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Cokato Township project will provide fiber-to-the-premise broadband access to rural sites in Cokato Township in Wright County, excluding the area within the city limits of the town of Cokato Minnesota. This project will improve unserved/underserved levels of service up to 1 gigabit per second download and upload speeds resulting in more efficient and effective e-learning, telemedicine options and enhanced precision agriculture tools to 300 locations, including 189 unserved and 111 underserved addresses.

County: Washington, Chisago
Representative Josiah Hill, Representative Anne Neu Brindley, Senator Karin Housley, Senator Mark Koran
Midco Midco Scandia
Grant: $689,700
Local Match: $689,700
Total Budget: $1,379,400
The Midco Scandia project will build fiber to the premises (FTTP) in portions of Washington and Chisago County in the communities of Scandia and Franconia Township. This project will extend reliable broadband service ranging up to 5 Gbps symmetrical or under 100/20 Mbps offering to 161 locations, including 145 unserved and 16 underserved locations.

County: Fillmore, Olmsted, Winona
Representative Gene Pelowski Jr., Representative Gregory M. Davids, Representative Steven E. Jacob, Senator Jeremy Miller, Senator Steve Drazkowski
MiEnergy Cooperative South West Fremont
Grant: $3,164,721
Local Match: $4,747,086
Total Budget: $7,911,807
The MiEnergy Cooperative project will see built Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) in the rural areas Southwest of Fremont, Minnesota located primarily in Winona and Filmore Counties. This project will provide services to 396 addresses, including 342 unserved and 54 underserved, and bridge the digital divide by offering residents access to essential services such as telemedicine, online education, and remote work opportunities. Funding partner Mabel Cooperative Telephone Company is contributing $2,373,543.

County: Aitkin
Representative Ron Kresha, Senator Nathan Wesenberg
Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative MLEC Fiber – Cedar Lake
Grant: $1,808,768
Local Match: $2,266,272
Total Budget: $4,075,040
The MLEC Fiber – Cedar Lake project will see continued collaboration between Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) and Consolidated Telecommunications Company (CTC) to expand fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) to a significantly unserved area in Aitkin County. The project will expand off the existing MLEC Fiber network to bring vital communications to help with distance learning, remote working, and telemedicine needs in Aitkin County at 421 locations, including 317 unserved and 104 underserved residential and season homes, small farms, and home businesses. Aitkin County has pledged $25,000 to this project.

County: Otter Tail
Representative Jeff Backer, Senator Jordan Rasmusson
Otter Tail Telcom West Fergus Falls
Grant: $3,700,198
Local Match: $1,233,399
Total Budget: $4,933,598
This Low Density Otter Tail Telcom West Fergus Falls project will construct a fiber to the home/fiber to the premise (FTTH/FTTP) network to residents and businesses in rural western Otter Tail County. Improving broadband services will enable agriculture producers, farmers, ranchers, telecommuters, business owners and independent professionals to work from home via videoconferencing; cultivate an opportunity for new businesses to relocate to Otter Tail County’s rural area; and increase job and population growth, providing a significant economic impact for the county. This project will serve 286 unserved locations. Funding partners include; Otter Tail County-$379,200, Aastad Township-$36,360, Buse Township-$17,793, Carlisle Township-$57,248, Orwell Township-$58,021, Oscar Township-$27,077, and Western Township-$41,002.

County: St. Louis
Representative Roger J. Skraba, Representative David Lislegard, Senator Grant Hauschild, Senator Robert Farnsworth
Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative NW St. Louis County GigaZone Expansion
Grant: $3,924,157
Local Match: $2,099,108
Total Budget: $6,023,265
This Low Density Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative NW St. Louis County will begin construction on the Northwest St. Louis County GigaZone Project, which will serve rural portions of northwest St. Louis County. This project will serve a total of 420 locations, including 355 unserved and 65 underserved homes, businesses, farms, and community anchor institutions. Funding partners include; St. Louis County Broadband Infrastructure- $400,000, IRRRB Broadband Infrastructure-$400,000, Alango Township-$41,200, Field Township-$17,800, Sturgeon Township-$40,000.

County: Stearns
Representative Paul H. Anderson, Senator Torrey Westrom
Runestone Telecom Association Crow Lake
Grant: $1,538,614
Local Match: $512,875
Total Budget: $2,051,489
This Low Density Runestone Telecom Association Crow Lake project will be a Last Mile project within Crow Lake Township in rural western Stearns County, improving the available broadband service speeds from under 25 Mbps to 1,000 Mbps, with room for future bandwidth needs for schools, farms, businesses, anchor institutions, and residents. This project will serve 153 locations, including 114 unserved and 39 served locations. Crow Lake Township is a funding partner with a contribution of $18,000.

County: Murray
Representative Chris Swedzinski, Senator Gary Dahms
Woodstock Telephone Company Skandia FTTH Low Density
Grant: $2,914,733
Local Match: $971,578
Total Budget: $3,886,311
This Low Density Woodstock Telephone Company Skandia FTTH project will cover a rural area east of Skandia in Murray County, and is for a Fiber-To-The-Premises Network that would utilize existing Woodstock-owned middle-mile fiber and offer speeds up to 1G upload and 1G download. This project will serve a residents and businesses at 190 unserved locations. Funding partner, Murray County is contributing $485,789. 26 Totals $51,963,323 $48,468,239 $100,431,561

*Grant awards rounded to nearest dollar

MN Broadband Grant Round Lower Population Density Awards are announced

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The Minnesota Office of Broadband Development has unveiled the latest (Round 10) MN broadband awards. They have announced the Border to Border and Low Population Density awards. Because it’s a lot of information, I am going to do two separate reports – here is the MN Broadband Grant Round 10 Lower Population Density Awards. (Get the detailed list of Round 10 Grantees.)

There are 8 awards for $26,999,984 in grants to serve 2,104 new passings.

Applicant Project Grant Award Amount
Bevcomm Inc Bevcomm Inc-Tyrone Township $1,101,801
Bevcomm Inc Bevcomm Inc-Waseca County Ph 2 $1,186,050
Federated Rural Electric Association Federated REA-Martin County $8,008,419
Garden Valley Telephone Company Garden Valley Tel Co-Mahnomen Cty $4,626,012
Otter Tail Telcom Otter Tail Telcom-West Fergus Falls $3,700,198
Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Cooperative Paul Bunyan Tel Coop-NW St. Louis Cty GigaZone                      $3,924,157
Runestone Telecom Association Runestone Telecom Assn-Crow Lake $1,538,614
Woodstock Telephone Company Woodstock Tel Co-Skandia $2,914,733
8 Totals  $26,999,984

More info on the grants:

Grant Round 10 Lower Population Density Grant Awards
Number of applications 27
Total amount originally applied for $78.3M
Amount awarded $27M
Number of projects awarded

Breakdown by region:

Central 1 projects – $1,538,614
Northland 1 projects – $3,924,157
Northwest* 1 projects – $4,626,012
Southern 3 projects – $10,296,270
Southwest 1 projects – $2,914,733
Twin Cities 0 projects – $0
West Central 1 projects – $3,700,198

*Project proposes to serve Tribal area with support and binding agreement with the Tribe

  

 
Local/private match $9.8M
Total number of locations served 2,104
Unserved locations 1,856
Underserved locations 248
Households to be served 1,497
Businesses to be served 223
Farms to be served 367
Community anchor institutions to be served 17
Challenges submitted 13
Number of challengers 9
Number of projects challenged 8

 
Number of challenges resulting in partial or non-funding 1

MN Broadband Grant Round 10 Border to Border Awards are announced

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The Minnesota Office of Broadband Development has unveiled the latest (Round 10) MN broadband awards. They have announced the Border to Border and Low Population Density awards. Because it’s a lot of information, I am going to do two separate reports – starting with the MN Broadband Grant Round 10 Border to Border Awards.

There are 18 awards for $24,963,338 in grants to serve 5,597 new passings.

Applicant Project Grant Award Amount
Ace Telephone Association AcenTek-Rural Canton $2,567,200
Arvig Arvig-Stearns Cty Wakefield & Luxemburg $708,790
Benton Cooperative Telephone Company Benton Coop-Buckman Township $1,248,430
Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company Blue Earth Valley Tel Co-Faribault Cty Fiber-Final $1,779,163
Consolidated Telephone Company CTC-RD 10 Wrenshall Community $2,127,530
East Central Energy ECE-Mille Lacs Central $3,267,902
East Central Energy ECE-Mille Lacs North $3,604,567
Kasson & Mantorville Telephone Company KM Telcom-Rural North Byron $515,564
Lismore Cooperative Telephone Co Lismore Coop-City of Bigelow $208,598
Mediacom LLC Mediacom LLC-Lakewood Normanna $145,000
Mediacom LLC Mediacom LLC-Lakewood South $232,800
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Meeker-Gennessee Township $662,430
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Meeker-Paynesville Township $542,077
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Meeker-Kandiyohi Township $744,965
Meeker Cooperative Light & Power Association Meeker-Cokato Township $945,133
Midco Midco-Midco Scandia (revised) $689,700
MiEnergy Cooperative MiEnergy Coop-South West Fremont $3,164,721
Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative MLEC-Cedar Lake $1,808,768
18 Totals $24,963,338

More info on the grants:

Grant Round 10 Border to Border Broadband Grant Awards
Number of applications 40
Total amount originally applied for $46.5M
Amount awarded $25M
Number of projects awarded

Breakdown by region:

 

Central 6 projects – $10,316,899
Northland 4 projects – $4,314,098
Northwest 0 projects – $0
Southern 4 projects – $8,026,648
Southwest 3 projects – $1,615,993
Twin Cities 1 projects – $689,700
West Central 0 projects – $0
 

 
Local/private match $38.7M
Total number of locations served 5,597
Unserved locations 3,908
Underserved locations 1,689
Households to be served 4,483
Businesses to be served 460
Farms to be served 642
Community anchor institutions to be served 12
Challenges submitted 19
Number of challengers 10
Number of projects challenged 16
Number of challenges resulting in partial or non-funding 12

Mediacom Communications Completes First Phase of St. Louis County Fiber Build

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Mediacom reports via Global Newswire…

 Mediacom Communications announced completion of the first phase of construction on a fiber-to-the-home network funded with support from Minnesota DEED’s Office of Broadband Development. Completion of phase one connects 135 homes in Biwabik Township in the Esquagama Lake area of St. Louis County.

Construction began in September of 2023 and once fully complete, the project will total 44 miles of conduit and 25 miles of fiber bringing ultra-high-speed broadband to 550 underserved homes. Mediacom received an $821,758 Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant to help fund the Esquagama Lake project. For its part, Mediacom is slated to invest more than $1.2 million of private capital to connect this previously underserved community with fiber broadband.

Residents and businesses in Biwabik Township can now access a variety of service offerings including broadband plans with up to 2 gigabits-per-second download speeds as well as low-cost landline phone plans and Mediacom Mobile. Mediacom also offers Xtream Connect, a low-cost broadband plan designed specifically for qualifying low-income households. A public open house scheduled for today will offer the community an opportunity to learn about Mediacom and sign up for services.

The Esquagama Lake project is one of several fiber builds Mediacom has undertaken to reach underserved areas in St. Louis County. In June, the company completed a 73-mile fiber build connecting more than 1,100 underserved homes in Lakewood Township. Additionally, construction is under way in underserved areas near Hibbing, a project also funded with support through a Border-to-Border grant. The first phase of the Hibbing area fiber build is expected to be connected later this year.

“This is an exciting day and a real game changer for people in this area,” said St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald. “It’s another cog in the wheel as we try to get quality broadband throughout rural St. Louis County. Each one of these projects means more access for more people, and we remain committed to working with state and federal partners to continue seeking funding for more projects like this to better serve all our residents.”

“The Iron Range area has always presented difficulty in constructing broadband networks due to the challenging terrain and short construction season,” said Mediacom Area Operations Director Jason Janesich. “The public-private partnership that we have formed through Minnesota DEED’s broadband grants and local partners like the leaders in St. Louis County has made a huge difference in allowing Mediacom to bridge the digital divide for this region.”

As Mediacom continues to bring broadband to more underserved residents throughout St. Louis County, all those interested in staying up to date with the process can follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Residents in the project areas are also encouraged to visit the Mediacom grants website to track construction progress, sign up for pre-installation or connect directly with a Mediacom grants project team member.

Broadband expansion begins in Fillmore County with MiBroadband and MN Broadband grants

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KIMT3 News reports…

Ground was broken Tuesday on four rural broadband projects in Fillmore County.

MiBroadband was the recipient of $5.15 million in grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Border-to-Border Program in 2022 and 2023.  The company says those grants are now helping build out fiber service to areas north of Fountain and Preston and pockets of two rural areas in southern rural Preston.  In addition, MiBroadband is also breaking ground on a self-funded $1.5 million project to bring fiber to the city of Fountain. …

MiBroadband says the projects will provide the fastest and most reliable internet service available to 781 locations.

More information about MiBroadband’s rural fiber projects and future plans can be found online at www.mibroadband.com/internet/ or by calling 507-886-6422.

(See video of story on KIMT website.)

 

 

EVENT: CTC ground breaking for FTTH in Cloquet MN

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It was a great day to see more folks get better broadband in Cloquet MN.

More info from CTC...

The Cloquet Broadband Vision: To ensure access to affordable, reliable, high-speed fiber internet delivered by a committed capable community partner skilled in maintaining and operating a successful broadband network.
In December 2022, it was announced that the City of Cloquet, in partnership with Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC), secured funding from the Border-to-Border Broadband program, which is administered by the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)’s Office of Broadband Development.
The grant of $4.8 million supports the “CTC Woods to Waters Broadband Initiative,” a “last mile project” designed to deliver fiber-to-the-premise service with symmetrical 1 gigabit speeds to underserved areas in rural central and northeastern Minnesota.
Project Highlights:
• The network will service 246 homes
• Includes 22 miles of mainline fiber and 11 miles of drop fiber
• Estimated total project cost is $1.8 million
• Construction is underway and is expected to be completed by fall
• Splicing will take place this fall and winter
• Installations are planned to begin in late winter or early spring
“We’re incredibly excited about this partnership. This project will be
instrumental for families and businesses as well as for future economic
growth in these communities. We look forward to providing everyone with
fast, reliable internet and top-notch local customer service for years to
come,” said Joe Buttweiler, Chief Strategy Officer.
goctc.com | (218) 454-1234
For project specific questions please contact Joe at joe@goctc.com
To sign-up for service please contact the CTC sales team at
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AcenTek Awarded Grant to Bring Gig-Speed Fiber Optics to Winona County

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News 19 reports…

AcenTek, a leading telecommunications provider, is bringing high-speed internet to Dakota County with the help of a $3.2 million grant from the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development Grant Program. This project will bridge the digital divide for an estimated 623 locations, offering them the opportunity to subscribe to internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

The total cost of the project is estimated at $8 million, with the grant covering a significant portion of the expense. Construction is expected to be completed by March 2025.

Correction: apparently the project is actually in Dakota City in Winona. (6/28/24)

MinnPost looks at impact of new labor laws, end of ACP and rules tied to federal broadband funding

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Yesterday I wrote about the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s take on the Minnesota broadband, regulation, industry and federal funding (BEAD.) Today MinnPost is taking a look at the issue including the impact of the end of ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program) and the assumption that providers will be able to step up to offer low-cost access to service without it…

When the president of a trade association representing Minnesota’s telecom industry was asked how many of his members would participate in a $652 million federal program aimed at providing internet access to those who lack it, he was quick to respond.

“Zero,” said Brent Christensen, president and CEO of Minnesota Telecom Alliance.

His group represents 70 companies that provide advanced telecommunications services, including wireless video and high-speed internet, to Minnesota’s metropolitan and rural communities. Many of the smaller companies in his organization already operate in hard-to-reach rural areas and are eager to expand their services.

But Christensen said none of them would bid for the federal grants because of the regulations that would come with it — especially the requirement to provide low-cost services to low-income households in exchange for grants that would allow internet providers to build out their networks.

“To put those obligations on small rural providers is a hell of a roadblock,” Christensen said. “Most of our members are small and can’t afford to offer a low-cost option.”

MinnPost also spoke to the MN Cable Communications Association who were in agreement with MTA. And the argument expanded to include the issue of required prevailing wages for broadband builders…

Especially when those federal regulations are coupled with new labor requirements imposed on the internet provider industry by the state Legislature earlier this year.

Those new regulations include requiring companies who receive state  grants to pay workers a “prevailing wage,” a basic hourly rate paid on public works projects to a majority of workers in a particular occupation. The federal government does not require BEAD grant recipients to pay the prevailing wage.

Christensen said there are no telecom jobs on the federal government’s  prevailing wage list, which the state statute requires internet providers to use. So companies in Minnesota would have to pay more because they would have to use a similar, but higher-paying, classification.

There is action happening that could change some of the rules…

“At this point, we haven’t finalized anything with NTIA,” said Bree Maki, executive director of the Office of Broadband Development. “And so it’s still sort of a work in progress, making sure that, you know, we’re holistically looking again at what is affordable for people in order to have the services, but also (asking), ‘How can we make sure providers provide the services?’”

Since a final plan has not been approved, the state’s internet service providers are lobbying the Office of Broadband Development, and in some cases the NTIA, seeking alterations.

“We’re still in a spot where there is hope that the process can be changed,” Wolf said.

Mpls Star Tribune looks at impact of new law on broadband unions, providers and future funding

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I’ve written about the legislation last session that requires the Office of Broadband Development to preference broadband projects with providers who adhere to prevailing wages and training for broadband installers for State funding but not federal. The Minneapolis Star Tribune published an article that focuses on the debate around the bill between labor unions and broadband providers…

The industry is under a microscope now, and the rift between unions and telecom providers came with high stakes.

Minnesota is in line for an unprecedented $652 million windfall from the federal government’s 2021 infrastructure bill to subsidize a broadband boom. Those telecom groups loudly warned that the state would lose the funding if DFL lawmakers approved the new standards, tanking a priority of President Joe Biden in the process.

“It’s not a question of whether it will cause damage, it’s how much damage is it going to cause,” said Brent Christensen, CEO of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance, an industry group that represents many rural providers.

The article details both sides and the eventual outcome…

After complicated negotiations, and input from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Legislature cut much of the original bill.

Internet providers that offer prevailing wage or other benefits to construction workers will be prioritized in any future state funding, but those rules won’t apply to federal grant applicants.

The new law requires bigger providers to report pay and benefits data on grant-funded projects, along with information about underrepresented workers.

The state will also create a 40-hour safety certification program required for broadband construction workers that drill underground near utility infrastructure or find and expose that infrastructure. The training program applies to privately funded work as well.

And a last comment on the law and federal funding…

Minnesota’s $652 million is part of a federal initiative meant to provide universal access to high-speed internet across the country.

Whether it actually will do that in Minnesota is a matter of interpretation. The state would need hundreds of millions more to hit its own goals.

Bree Maki, who runs Walz’s Office of Broadband Development, said internet providers will likely not start building with federal money until early 2026.

Better broadband is coming to Carlton County from Mediacom and SCI

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I found out about the following article from Mediacom’s new Facebook Page for their Broadband Grants. (They have an Instagram account too.) Social media is a great way to keep communities up with what’s happening in their area and share local press.

Pine Knot News reports…

“This is transformational,” Peterson said last week. “It means that you could be living on a farm in a rural area and have access to anything anybody in an urban center has – that is, library service, to medical consultation, to the ability to build a business.”

The transformational $10.9 million project features 180 miles of fiber optic cable, and will bring higher internet speeds and greater reliability to households across a wide area of rural Carlton County, all the way north to Munger and Solway Township. Mediacom is responsible for the project that has potential to reach 1,679 homes, 420 of those in Thomson Township, should they choose to sign up for the service.

“It’s a big lift doing these projects serving over 1,000 homes,” said Kate Hotle, director of government and public affairs for Medicom, based in the Quad Cities of Iowa.

She described the project as originating in 2022 and being grant-based through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which is paying half the cost with Mediacom matching the other half. Without state and federal funding, rural areas don’t offer the volume to make it worthwhile for providers to bury fiber optic infrastructure, she and other sources explained.

“There’s a reason why they don’t have (broadband) service yet,” Hotle said. “Infrastructure is expensive, especially when you’re talking about spaced-out homes. Our standard is 10 homes per quarter-mile.”

They outlined a number of projects…

The newspaper learned of scores of new projects in the county’s queue. In addition to Esko, Mediacom is in the process of reaching 549 homes in Scanlon.

SCI Broadband based in Hinckley is taking the lead on projects bound for places such as Automba (with its two or three homes per mile), Barnum Township and the Barnum lakes area extending west to Kettle River, and Eagle Lake south of Cromwell.

Scott Savage is the president of business development for SCI Broadband, which started as a cable television company 40 years ago. SCI was responsible for bringing fiber optic cable to Cromwell 12 years ago.

“We’re leveraging both federal and state dollars to expand into Carlton County,” Savage said. “We’re also leveraging our ‘middle mile.’ That’s how we’re doing it, essentially.”

The middle mile is an existing mainline along corridors such as Interstate 35 that the company established across many years.

“Then, from there, you have distribution lines along smaller roads that go to communities,” Savage said.

More details…

A $2.5 million project this summer from SCI, including rural Barnum and Eagle Lake, received $50,000 from the Carlton County board in February, to go with $1.2 million from SCI and $1.25 million from a state grant program.

NTIA has approved Minnesota’s BEAD Initial Proposal Volume 1

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Big news from the NTIA…

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Volume 1 of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development’s Initial Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative.

This approval will enable Minnesota to begin their BEAD Challenge Process — a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.

The BEAD Challenge Process is vital because it determines the locations and community anchor institutions within each jurisdiction that are eligible for BEAD funding.

Key step toward achieving BEAD goals

Before the BEAD program can meet the goal of providing accessible and affordable broadband, all unserved locations, underserved locations, and eligible Community Anchor Institutions must be identified.

Helps ensure accurate results

An evidence-based, fair, transparent, and expeditious BEAD Challenge Process, as outlined in the NOFO and Challenge Process Policy Notice, helps ensure accurate results, an efficient process, and a precise allocation of resources.

Gathers information needed before running the subgrantee selection

The subgrantee selection process cannot be run without first having an accurate and comprehensive list of eligible locations and CAIs.

Next Steps

  • Look out for State / Territory Specific Guidance
    It is important to pay close attention when your Eligible Entity posts their Challenge Process and instructions on how to participate.
  • Eligible Entities will make this information available publicly and will inform eligible challengers when this information is made available.

The BEAD program is a $42.45 billion state grant program authorized by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states, territories and Washington D.C. were allocated funding to deploy or upgrade high-speed Internet networks to ensure that everyone has access to reliable, affordable, high-speed Internet service.

Once deployment goals are met, any remaining funding can be used on high-speed Internet adoption, training, and workforce development efforts, among other eligible uses.

BEAD-eligible entities—the 56 states, territories, and the District of Columbia—are required to submit for NTIA’s approval an Initial Proposal detailing how they plan to spend their BEAD allocation to deliver high-speed Internet access to all unserved and underserved locations within their borders. All states submitted their Initial Proposals by December 27, 2023. Visit the Bead Initial Proposal Progress Dashboard page where NTIA provides weekly updates on the status of all 56 states and territories’ Initial Proposal.

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Internet for All

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes a historic $65 billion investment to expand affordable and reliable high-speed Internet access in communities across the U.S. NTIA recently launched a series of new high-speed Internet grant programs funded by the law that will build high-speed Internet infrastructure across the country, create more low-cost high-speed Internet service options, and address the digital equity and inclusion needs in our communities.

For more information on the Biden-Harris Administration’s high-speed Internet service programs, please visit InternetforAll.gov.

About the National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is the Executive Branch agency that advises the President on telecommunications and information policy issues. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America, expanding the use of spectrum by all users, advancing public safety communications, and ensuring that the Internet remains an engine for innovation and economic growth.

Goodhue County Board of Commissioners find additional funding for broadband

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The Kenyon Leader reports…

The Goodhue County Board of Commissioners will have additional dollars to invest in an additional round of rural broadband projects after the largest project from the previous round of funding and several other pre-planned expenses came in significantly under budget.

Last fall, the board voted to allocate $277,733 in funding under the American Rescue Plan Act for a Nuvera Communications project to bring broadband to parts of Belle Creek, Cannon Falls, Leon and Vasa Townships, leaving approximately $200,000 in the coffers for future projects.

The Board had specifically hoped that this funding could help to support a potential broadband project which Hiawatha Broadband Communications had envisioned for the Wacouta area. However, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development decided not to move forward with supporting that project.

In addition to the $200,000 left on the bottom line, Finance Director Lucas Dahling said that an additional $63,077 in dedicated broadband funding is available, $12,000 after reconstruction of Goodhue County’s website redesign came as less expensive than anticipated and the remainder after Nuvera’s Vasa Township project came in under budget.

Questioned by Commissioner Brad Anderson, Dahling said that while the Board need not necessarily be in a hurry to spend that additional funding, it would make sense to move forward with another round of funding soon if funding rural broadband remains a Board priority.

“We don’t want to hold off on spending this money if we don’t need to,” he said. “My opinion is we have the funds available, this wasn’t levy dollars. If the Board wishes to continue supporting broadband projects, it would make sense to continue supporting those.”

Nearly $200,000 in additional ARPA contingency funds also appear to have become available after funding for the cost of hiring several employees, most notably the County’s Outreach and Communications Specialist, came in well under budget.

The cost of the Outreach and Communications Specialist position alone was overestimated by roughly $140,000, which Dahling attributed to an overestimation of the position’s salary and also to the decision to use levy dollars to fund half of the position.

While roughly half of those ARPA contingency dollars are set to be spent on improvements to the Goodhue County Government Center, the remaining total of roughly $200,000 could be coupled with dollars devoted to broadband for a round of over $450,000 in broadband aid.

From OBD: BEAD Challenge Portal, updates and resources

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From the Office of Broadband Development news alert…

Minnesota is in the curing phase with NTIA on the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Initial Proposal, Volume 1, awaiting NTIA approval. BEAD will be federal funds that provide funding for broadband infrastructure (fiber, fixed wireless, satellite) with the goal of demonstrating Internet for All. Once NTIA approves Volume 1, OBD will conduct the BEAD Challenge Process with its vendor AppGeo. Currently, the Challenge Window is expected to open mid-July and there will be 30 days for challenges, 30 days for rebuttal, and a 30-day window for OBD to adjudicate. Before the Challenge Window opens, OBD is planning regional events to review the BEAD Challenge process, to hold webinars, and to host weekly office hours online. More information to follow in the coming weeks, additionally, if NTIA approval comes later than anticipated the schedule below will be adjusted accordingly.
BEAD Challenge Portal Opens – late-June (21 days)
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BEAD Challenge Window – mid-July to mid-August

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BEAD Rebuttal Window – mid-August to mid-September
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BEAD Adjudication by OBD – mid-September to mid-October
The Challenge portal is planned to open around two weeks ahead of the official Challenge Window to allow for eligible challengers to review the map and prepare for submitting challenges. The following, states with approved Volume 1s have more information on their websites and are also using AppGeo as their vendor: Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington. Since the portal map will be very similar, if you would like to preview the Challenge portal in those states, you can find more information through the following links:

As information on outreach events, webinars, office hours, and important dates for the BEAD Challenge become available, it will be announced via email to this distribution list as well as posted on OBD’s webpage here.

MN Broadband Task Force May meeting: BEAD updates, precision ag and service learning opportunities

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We learned about sustainability and precision agriculture. We learned about the American Connection Corps. And we got an update on BEAD funding. Not much has happened in the last month but folks had lots of practical questions. OBD emphasized the fact that the BEAD grants will follow federal guidelines, not state rules. The BEAD focus is ubiquitous coverage over meeting the Minnesota 100/20 goal, which means if a provider is the only one to bid on a particular unserved area the quality of service and application doesn’t matter as much as location.

Last round of MN Broadband grant application were received last week. Here’s the break down:

  •  40 applications for border to border totaling $47M – only $30 available
  • 28 applications for Low density totaling $79M – only $20 available

There was a brief update on legislative issues. Sounds like the bill to allow OBD to redistribute broadband grants funds based on need. No discussion on MN House Labor Omnibus Bill.

Also – the video is poor here because there was no camera in the room of the onsite meeting. I was able to screenshot PTT slides.

Continue reading →

Office of Broadband Development received 68 applications for broadband grants

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The Office of Broadband Development reports…

Sixty-eight (68) applications for the 2024 Round 10 Border-to-Border and Low-Density Broadband Development grant program were received by the May 10th deadline. The Office of Broadband Development has initiated the challenge process required by Minnesota law (Minn. Stat. 116J.395 subd. 5a) concurrent with its review of the applications. A list of the applications filed and instructions on how to file a challenge, if necessary, are available on our website and under the “2024 Application Process” tab.  A downloadable GIS layer of the 2024 Round 10 Grant application areas will be available on our interactive broadband map on or around Monday, May 20, 2024. Any provider wishing to challenge an application must complete the 2024 Challenge Form and submit via email to deed.broadband@state.mn.us by 4:00 p.m. Friday, June 14, 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact our office at 651-259-7610 or via email at deed.broadband@state.mn.us.