Tag Archives: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

ReConnect awards of $759 Million go out – two in Minnesota

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The USDA reports…

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing $759 million to bring high-speed internet access to people living and working across 24 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Palau. The investments include funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provides a historic $65 billion to expand reliable, affordable, high-speed internet to all communities across the US. The $759 million in loans and grants comes from the third funding round of the ReConnect Program, including:

Here are the awards in Minnesota:

Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative $3,788,680
This Rural Development investment will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the-home network to connect 473 people, 15 farms and nine businesses to high-speed internet in Aitkin and Crow Wing counties in Minnesota. Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program.

Tekstar Communications $12,602,274
This Rural Development investment will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to connect 3,113 people, 171 farms, 103 businesses and a school to high-speed internet in Douglas, Otter Tail, St. Louis, Stearns and Todd counties in Minnesota. Tekstar Communications Inc. will make high-speed internet affordable by offering its “Gig Price for Life” promotion for new services. Tekstar Communications Inc. also will participate in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity and Lifeline programs.

States will be working to create a digital equity plan

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Agri-Pulse recently posted an article that outlines federal money coming to the states to support better broadband deployment and adoption, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which requires stated to create a digital equity plans…

With the first $60 million in funding, states are required to develop digital equity plans and determine what state agency will be responsible for carrying out that digital equity plan. Angie Dickison, executive director for the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development, told Agri-Pulse that her office would likely be the one in Minnesota tasked with carrying out that plan, but that still needs to be determined. For now, however, she said the state is in the beginning steps of determining what its digital equity plan should look like.

“Our office is leading that work for now,” Dickison told Agri-Pulse. “As we find out more about how these programs are going to be deployed at the federal level, we’ll certainly adjust and support another office if that’s how it turns out to be.”