The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program funds the expansion of broadband service to areas of Minnesota that are unserved or underserved.
Donor Name: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
State: Minnesota
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 08/04/2022
Size of the Grant: $5 million
Details:
The legislative focus of this grant program is to provide financial resources that help make the business case for new and existing providers to invest in building broadband infrastructure into unserved and underserved areas of the state.
OBD intends to follow state law guidelines for the Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program, while building in any measures necessary to comply with federal requirements associated with use of the Capital Projects Fund for the FY2022/23 grant round. Grants awarded will either be entirely funded with state general revenue funds or ARPA Capital Projects Funds for ease of implementation and compliance.
Funding Information
- A maximum of $95 million will be available for grants this round.
- The maximum individual grant amount is $5 million. The maximum grant funding award cannot exceed 50% of the eligible total project costs. Awarded grant project work must be completed by June 30, 2025.
Eligible Areas
Broadband development projects located in unserved or underserved areas are eligible for the Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grants. An unserved area is an area of Minnesota in which households or businesses lack access to wire-line broadband service at speeds that meet the FCC threshold of 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload. An underserved area is an area of Minnesota in which households or businesses do receive service at or above the FCC threshold but lack access to wire-line broadband service at speeds of 100 megabits per second download and 20 megabits per second upload.
Eligible Program Costs
- The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program can pay up to 50 percent of the broadband development costs for a qualifying project, including the acquisition and installation of middle-mile and last-mile infrastructure that support broadband service scalable to speeds of at least 100 megabits per second download and 100 megabits per second upload.
- Last mile infrastructure is broadband infrastructure that serves as the final leg connecting the broadband service provider’s network to the end-use customer’s on-premise telecommunications equipment. Middle mile infrastructure is broadband infrastructure that links a broadband service provider’s core network infrastructure to last-mile infrastructure.
- Construction of broadband infrastructure may include any of the following: project planning; obtaining construction permits; construction of facilities, including construction of both “middle mile” and “last mile” infrastructure; equipment; and installation and testing of the broadband service.
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants for this program are an incorporated business or partnership, a political subdivision, an Indian tribe, a Minnesota nonprofit organization organized under chapter 317A, a Minnesota cooperative association organized under chapter 308A or 308B, or a Minnesota limited liability corporation organized under chapter 322C for the purpose of expanding broadband access.
For more information, visit Broadband Grant Program.
