Minnesota announced on Thursday nearly $100 million in broadband grants, the largest investment in broadband in state history.
Minnesota awards nearly $100M in grants to extend broadband in state
The funding is expected to extend high-speed internet connections to more than 33,000 Minnesota homes and businesses in 48 counties.
December 9, 2022 at 2:13AM
The money will fund 61 projects and is expected to extend high-speed internet connections to more than 33,000 Minnesota homes and businesses in 48 counties.
Under stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, people in Minnesota relied heavily on high-speed internet to continue work, run their business, educate students and receive telehealth services, as well as consume content and connect virtually with loved ones.
While society is gradually returning to more in-person experiences, thousands of households and businesses remain challenged with inadequate access to the internet.
Despite 92% of the state covered in wireline access, state officials estimate between 240,000 and 291,000 households in Minnesota currently lack access to high-speed broadband internet.
"For every percent we get closer to full coverage, it gets a little bit harder because it is tough to get broadband internet access to some of the more rural parts of our state," Steve Grove, commissioner of the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), said Thursday. "There are geographical concerns; there are commercial concerns. The market has to ensure companies can make this worth it, and that's where our broadband program comes in."
Blue Earth telecommunications company Bevcomm, for instance, received two grants totaling about $2.4 million. The funds will be used to build internet access for roughly 600 homes in rural Minnesota, Chief Executive Bill Eckles said, to help those residents participate in digital health services and farmers to take advantage of automation and internet-based machinery.
The grants stem from the Border-to-Border Program, administered by DEED's Office of Broadband Development. Created in 2014, the program has now distributed close to $230 million in grants, with $130 million spent before Thursday's announcement.
The majority of the state's investment — $70 million — is federal funding from the American Rescue Plan. Each grant award is capped at $5 million per project and may be used to reimburse up to half the grantee's eligible costs.
Gov. Tim Walz wants Minnesota to be one of the top five states in the nation for broadband speed for residents and businesses, and by no later than 2026, supply Minnesota businesses and homes with access to at least one provider of broadband with download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, advanced download speeds for the average household is anything over 25 megabits per second.
Stronger internet is invaluable for children to grow and learn in today's economy, and it's also invaluable in keeping Minnesota economically competitive, Grove said.
"You can't start a company in today's world without broadband internet access, and that should be possible in each and every corner of our state," he said.
The next round of funding from the program will award $67.6 million in grants to broadband expansion projects, officials said.
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