Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group has received a $6.4 million loan and a $6.4 million grant to provide broadband service to rural communities in southwest Minnesota.
Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group (SWMBG) has been selected by the federal government to receive a $6.4 million loan and a $6.4 million grant to provide broadband services to eight rural communities in southwest Minnesota.
The SWMBG is one of 11 groups or projects that received funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the grants and loans, which were distributed to nines states, on Wednesday.
The Jackson, Lakefield, Windom, Round Lake, Bingham Lake, Brewster, Wilder, Heron Lake, and Okabena communities will be the beneficiaries of the grant and loan.
This funding, along with an $88,000 private investment, will provide high-speed Internet, voice, and cable television to the communities.
“Deployment of broadband will support job creation and rural economic development,” Vilsack said in a statement. “The Obama administration and [Department of Agriculture] are bringing broadband to rural America so that Americans can compete in a global 21st century economy.”
In all, more than $277 million will be invested in the 11 projects. An additional $1.6 million in private investment will be provided in matching funds.
The other eight states that received loans and grants are Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, and Texas.
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration also announced on Wednesday that a second filing window for broadband applications opened this week.
—Melissa Loth
(mloth@tcbmag.com)