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NEW ULM -- NU-Telecom is the recipient of two grants from the state of Minnesota for expanding rural broadband.
The internet service provider (ISP) is receiving a total of $736,598 to fund two projects in Hanska and the White Rock region that will increase broadband access to an estimated 31 residences and 126 businesses.
"Internet access, whether it is provided by wire or however it is provided, is a basic utility of the 21st century," Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said. "Without it you cannot get your work done, you cannot get your school work done, you do not have access to healthcare. It is not something that is nice to have, it is something that is really necessary to participate in the economy of the 21st century."
The grants are funded through the Office of Broadband Development (OBD) of the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
NU-Telecom will receive $324,894 for a last mile project in Hanska. The last mile is a colloquial phrase for the piece of infrastructure connecting customers to the network.
The project is estimated to cost a total of $813,100 with the remainder coming from a local match. It will expand broadband to 9 households and 38 businesses that are currently unserved, according to a press release.
New internet speeds are expected to be around a 1 gigabit-per-second upload and download speeds, 10 times faster than the 100 megabit download and 40 times faster than the 25 megabit upload speeds of the 2026 state goal, according to the press release.
The second grant project will expand access to 22 unserved households and 88 businesses in the White Rock area in the northern half of Goodhue County.
NU-Telecom will receive $411,704 in grant money. The project is estimated to cost $914,898 and shares the same speed goals as the Hanska project.
Funds come from the Border-to-Border Broadband grant program. This year a total of $26 million is being provided to 39 broadband projects across greater Minnesota.
NU-Telecom representatives were unavailable for comment by press time.
"The numbers indicate that these grants are going to be able to really help local communities expand broadband," Smith said.
The program supports ISPs in expanding service to low-density areas of the state, where residents are considered underserved.
Currently an estimated 20 percent of Minnesotans have internet speeds slower than the 25 megabit-per-second download and 3 megabit upload speeds the state defines as well served.
"This program has also turned out to be a vital tool in the broadband developer's toolbox, allowing them to push robust connectivity or advanced communications into those areas of the state where the economics has not worked for them in the past," Executive Director of OBD Danna Mackenzie said.
Much like electricity, Mackenzie explained, the profit margin of a broadband company becomes slimmer with lower-density populations. The cost of building the internet infrastructure becomes more and more prohibitive the fewer people there are in an area.
The grants seek to offset the cost to provide internet, whether it is fiber optic or cable wireless, to every Minnesotan.
Connor Cummiskey can be emailed at ccummiskey@nujournal.com.