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Broadband Grant Program

Office of Broadband Development

The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program funds the expansion of broadband service to areas of Minnesota that are unserved or underserved.

2022 Broadband Grant Recipients are listed below under "2022 Awards" tab.

Overview

The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program was created in Minn. Stat. 116J.395 in 2014. 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. The Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program has been funded with state general fund revenues and a combination of both state general fund revenues and federal American Rescue Pan Act (ARPA) Sec. 604 Capital Projects Funds (CPF). Grant rounds available after 2023 are anticipated to be funded with Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Funds (BEAD).

2023 Grant Round

In the 2022 legislative session, the legislature directed an additional $60.7 million of federal ARPA funds to be used for broadband programs of which $42.6 million will be available for Border-to-Border grants, including up to $30 million for a Low-Density Pilot program. Additionally in the 2022 session, the legislature allocated $25 million in State General Revenue Funds to the Border-to-Border grant program for FY24.

With the $25 million in State General Revenue Funding and $42 million in Capital Projects Funds, DEED opened the application window for the 2023 grant round on December 19, 2022. A maximum of $67 million will be available for grants this round, including up to $30 million for a Low-Density Pilot program. Applications were due by 4:00 p.m. on March 2, 2023. Applications received are listed below under "2023 Broadband Grant Applications". Any provider wishing to challenge an application must complete the 2023 Challenge Form below and submit no later than 4:00 p.m. April 5, 2023.

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 2023 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.

The 2023 Application Process tab below provides additional detail on the current grant round. The remaining tabs provide information on the 2022 grant awards and grants awarded during the first six years the program was offered (2014-2017, 2019-2020).

Please continue to visit this page of the Office of Broadband Development website to stay up to date on the Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program or Sign Up For Broadband Updates.

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