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RELEASE: Rep. Ecklund’s historic $100 million broadband investment proposal advances

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Today, the House Industrial Education and Economic Development Committee approved legislation authored by Rep. Rob Ecklund (DFL – International Falls) to invest $100 million toward expanding high-speed broadband access to every corner of the state. The investment would represent the largest amount dedicated to broadband in state history.

“With technology taking on a greater role in our lives, which a global pandemic only increased, it’s unacceptable so many homes, businesses, and schools still don’t have fast, reliable internet access,” Rep. Ecklund said. “High-speed broadband is increasingly important for a strong way of life in rural areas, including access to telemedicine, telecommuting opportunities, and for access to high-tech farming equipment. Moving past COVID-19, our reliance on broadband isn’t going away. As we enter the third decade of the 21st century, Minnesotans are counting on us to make these bold investments so everyone can have the internet access they deserve no matter where they live.”

The bill delivers $100 million for the Minnesota Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program, under which $104 million has been invested since 2014. The matching grants leverage private investments to expand broadband infrastructure into unserved and underserved areas.

Current law caps broadband grants at $5 million, which Rep. Ecklund’s bill raises to $10 million. The bill also increases the eligible match proportion from 50% to a 75% share of the project costs. Many townships with low populations have shared difficulties qualifying for grants because they’re unable to come up with adequate funding under the current required match formula. The legislation also requires the state Office of Broadband Development to submit a report to lawmakers by the end of the year with information about how these changes impacted the delivery of grants.

The state of Minnesota is still awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to offer $70 million worth of grants under the federal American Rescue Plan. Additional funding will likely soon be available for broadband grants from other federal sources, including at least $100 million from President Biden’s Infrastructure Plan.

As of January 2021, 83% of households in rural Minnesota had access to broadband meeting the state’s 2022 speed goal of 25mbps download/3mbs upload, up from 68% in 2015. Only 72.5% of rural households currently have access to the state’s 2026 speed goal of 100mbs download/20mbs upload. According to the Office of Broadband Development, an estimated investment of $1.3 billion would be needed to connect the remaining homes to service with these speeds.

Rep. Ecklund’s legislation will be considered next in the House Committee on Ways and Means. Documents from today’s hearing are available on the committee webpage, and video of the hearing is available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.