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Minnesota fiber internet provider promises flat rate for life

Program is being offered in rural areas to connect farms, agribusinesses and people.

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PIXABAY
PIXABAY

Tekstar Communications is receiving a $12.6 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network that will connect thousands of people, 171 farms, 103 businesses and an educational facility to high-speed internet in five rural counties in Minnesota.

Its “Gig for Life” service will not raise internet prices for households that sign up for internet, as long as they stay at the same address and continue service.

The grant was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) $759 million investment in bringing high-speed internet access to people living and working across 24 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Palau.

The investments include funding from President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides $65 billion to expand reliable, affordable, high-speed internet to all communities across the U.S.

“People living in rural towns across the nation need high-speed internet to run their businesses, go to school and connect with their loved ones,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “USDA partners with small towns, local utilities and cooperatives, and private companies to increase access to high-speed internet so people in rural America have the opportunity to build brighter futures. … That’s how you grow the economy — not just in rural communities, but across the nation.”

High-speed internet from sea to shining sea

The USDA’s $759 million in loans and grants comes from the third funding round of the ReConnect Program. To be eligible for ReConnect Program funding, an applicant must serve an area that does not have access to service at speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) to download and 20 Mbps to upload.

The applicant must also commit to building facilities capable of providing high-speed internet service with speeds of 100 Mbps (download and upload) to every location in its proposed service area.

Approved grants will serve regions across the U.S., including:

  • North Carolina’s AccessOn Networks Inc. is receiving a $17.5 million grant to connect thousands of people, 100 businesses, 76 farms and 22 educational facilities to high-speed internet in Halifax and Warren counties in North Carolina.
  • Colorado’s Eastern Slope Rural Telephone Association is receiving an $18.7 million grant to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network connecting thousands of people, 898 farms, 110 businesses and 17 educational facilities to high-speed internet in nine rural counties.
  • USDA is making 49 awards in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Guam and Palau.

Providers will make the new high-speed internet offered affordable by participating in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program.

Continuing the expand of rural broadband

In 2017, then Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that USDA awarded four loans totaling $43.6 million to help provide broadband service in rural portions of California, Illinois, Iowa and Texas. The recipients included:

  • $24.8 million awarded to the Central Texas Telephone Cooperative, Inc. to construct 568 miles of fiber and install equipment upgrades in seven of its 17 exchanges.
  • $9 million awarded to California’s Ducor Telephone Co. to construct 67 miles of fiber and update equipment to improve quality, functionality and network reliability.
  • $6.5 million awarded to the Coon Valley Cooperative Telephone Association In Iowa to construct 216 miles of fiber to improve access to advanced telecommunications services.
  • $3.3 million to Illinois’ Viola Home Telephone Co. to construct 104 miles of fiber cable and provide supporting equipment to deliver enhanced telecommunications services to rural subscribers.

To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, visit rd.usda.gov.

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