With $67.6 million in its pocket, Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has launched a request for proposals for broadband grants. As the Grand Rapids MN Herald Review notes, $25 million of the funding comes from state grants with the remaining $46.2 million contributed by the federal government. Minnesota’s Border-to-Border initiative aims to see all homes and businesses with broadband access including download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second.
“Public-private partnerships like the Border-to-Border program are a proven, effective way to make high-speed, high-quality broadband available to more Minnesotans,” stated Bree Maki, Executive Director of DEED’s Office of Broadband Development. “Earlier this month we awarded grants to dozens of projects to benefit 33,000 Minnesota homes and business, and this new grant round will further extend that impact.”
“Broadband access and adoption are critical for workers, education, healthcare and our business community,” said DEED Deputy Commissioner Kevin McKinnon. “We are working hard to provide this resource across the state and to all Minnesotans.”
Successful applicants can use grant funding to reimburse up to half the cost of broadband infrastructure they install. There is a funding limit of $5 million for a single project. Applications must be received by March 2, 2023 with the grants awarded in early summer. More details are available here.
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