Local headquarters in Minnesota broadband and full-service telecommunications provider Arvig has been awarded a grant from Minnesota's Broadband Line Extension Connection Program to build a last-mile fiber optic network infrastructure bringing high-speed internet to 69 unserved locations in rural Minnesota. Heir apparent said in a news release this week.
Allocation of grant funding
Arvig received grants totaling $543,244 from the program after submitting successful lowest-cost bids to deliver fiber to the sites. Total project funding is $612,244, with Arvig investing $69,000 to cover additional project costs.
The 69 unserved locations consist of seven projects in areas such as Rural Callaway, Henning, Rochert, Detroit Lakes and Frazee. The company said construction on some of these projects is expected to begin as early as May 2024, with a target completion of May 2025.
Also read: Arvig will expand gigabit internet to three rural Minnesota counties
Exceeding connectivity standards
Under the program's requirements, Arvig plans to exceed the mandatory internet speeds of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload, offering speeds of up to 1 Gbps download and 100 Mbps upload to the newly connected locations.
Heir apparent expressed gratitude for the program, saying, “This funding will not only help us close the broadband gap in rural Minnesota, but also help offset the higher deployment costs that are often associated with delivering internet service to unserved areas in our state. “
Gratitude and program impact
The Line Extension Connection Program, administered by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), was established in 2022 with a budget of $15 million to address the connectivity challenges facing underserved communities.
Also read: Gateway Fiber is expanding fiber internet service to more Minneapolis metro areas
The latest grant was awarded as part of Round 2 of the Line Extension Connection program funding process. In late 2023, Arvig accepted a separate grant from the program to expand internet service at 118 locations in several Lake District communities, Arvig said.
