The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) http://mn.gov/deed will begin taking applications on July 22, 2016 for funding to expand the broadband infrastructure in the state. The $35 million approved for funding during the 2016 legislative session went into effect at the beginning of the 2017 fiscal year which began July 1, 2016.
DEED will award grants through the “Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program” https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/grant-program to pay for up to 50 percent of project development costs in unserved and underserved areas of the state.
Officials estimate that an additional 12,000 Minnesota households will receive high-speed internet once the projects are completed. Under the new funding, $5 million will be targeted for underserved areas of the state and $500,000 for projects that propose to expand the availability and adoption of broadband service to areas that contain a significant proportion of low-income households.
The new round of funding brings the state’s total investment since the “Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program” was created in 2014 to $65.4 million. DEED awarded $19.4 million to 17 broadband projects in Minnesota last February and another $11 million for 15 Minnesota projects last November.
DEED will accept applications for the new funding through October 3, 2016. For more details on the program go to https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/grant-program.