With nearly 1,000 miles of fiber optic cable laid over the past four years across eight northeastern Minnesota counties, the Northeast Service Cooperative (NESC) Northeast Middle Mile Fiber Project is the largest broadband network of its kind in the region.

Good reason to celebrate.

A celebration to mark completion of the $43.5 million fiber optic network is at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 30, at NESC headquarters in Mountain Iron.

NESC is a non-profit that serves schools, cities, counties and other agencies throughout northeastern Minnesota.

"It was a challenging project and it took us four years," said Paul Brinkman, NESC executive director. "But once service is connected, we get nothing but unanimous feedback about the quality of the network and the speed."

Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board Commissioner Mark Phillips, Danna MacKenzie, director of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development, United States Department of Agriculture State Director Colleen Landkamer, Iron Range legislators, and other officials supporting broadband development in northeastern Minnesota, will attend the celebration.

The public is welcome to attend.

The fiber extends to Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, Pine, and St. Louis counties

Already connected by the project are about 320 public entities across the region, including libraries, 31 school districts, colleges, health care facilities, government offices, and tribal facilities.

In addition, Northeast Service Cooperative is working with private providers which use the middle mile fiber to extend "last-mile" broadband service to homes and businesses.

Segments of the fiber are also leased to public-private broadband providers.

"The project was about getting high-speed capacity and redundant connectivity to public facilities in northeastern Minnesota and develop a fiber backbone," said Brinkman. "We now have a fiber optic backbone that the region never had on this scale."

The project was funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service broadband loan program and the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as 50 percent loan and 50 percent grant.

NESC owns and maintains the network.

"It's one of largest broadband projects nationwide supported by the USDA," said Brinkman. "Construction is done, the project is complete and we are now serving our members. We invite everybody to come celebrate with us."