DEED Announces Historic Funding for Broadband Expansion
June 3, 2022
St. Paul – Today, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) that will award $95 million in broadband grants across the state, applications must be submitted by August 4, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. Building on appropriations from both the 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions, this grant round contains the highest-ever amount of funding for the Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program. Funding from two sources – state and federal – can be used to reimburse for up to half the cost of the broadband infrastructure deployed. Funding for a single project is capped at $5 million.
“This historic level of broadband funding will increase opportunities for Minnesotans across the state, said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, “Now, more than ever, broadband is what connects Minnesotans to their education, jobs and the rest of the world.”
On the state funding side, in May 2022 Governor Tim Walz signed legislation appropriating $50 million -- $25M in FY23 and $25M in FY24 – from the state’s general fund for broadband. This bolsters the state’s practice since 2014 of providing state funds to build out broadband service in areas of the state where it is challenging to do so.