Minnesota rural areas to get high-capacity and high-speed broadband services
Last August Eventis received a $16.8 million stimulus grant as some of the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. Today, July 26th, they announced the start of their $24 million Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative Project.
During the following two years, Eventis will be laying 430 miles of fiber to expand their network across the state of Minnesota. This will provide the “middle mile” backbone to bring high-speed broadband to rural areas of the state.
John Finke, CEO/President of HickoryTech (the company that owns Eventis) said “The project, which will be completed by 2013, will significantly increase our fiber network and enable high-capacity broadband services in greater Minnesota as well as create jobs. Construction has begun on the first phase of the project, the northern fiber route which will extend from northern Minneapolis to Duluth, Minn. and into Superior, Wisconsin.”
Rural anchor institutions such as medical, police and education institutions will be able to finally have much needed high-capacity broadband services. Also, rural communities will now have access to affordable high-speed broadband services which is expected to encourage business growth and development.
Not missing an opportunity for public recognition, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar remarked “Decades ago, we made sure every American had access to electricity and to the telephone, and today it’s critical we do the same for internet access. High-speed internet represents a smart investment that can benefit rural communities and lay the foundation for long-term economic growth.”
We are definitely seeing a lot of broadband growth and a lot of rural areas being provided with broadband access that city folk may take fro granted.
