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Broadband Grant Program

Office of Broadband Development

The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program funds the expansion of broadband service to areas of Minnesota that are unserved or underserved.

FY 2025 Broadband Grant Round 10 Recipients are listed below under "2024 Awards" tab.

Overview

The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program was created in Minn. Stat. 116J.395 in 2014. The legislative focus of this grant program is to provide financial resources that help make the business case for new and existing providers to invest in building broadband infrastructure into unserved and underserved areas of the state. The Border-to-Border Broadband Grant Program has been funded with state general fund revenues and a combination of both state general fund revenues and federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Sec. 604 Capital Projects Funds (CPF). The 2023 Legislature appropriated $50 million for each of FY 2024 and FY 2025. The FY 2024 State General Revenue Funds of $50 million funded the ninth grant round and the FY 2025 State General Revenue Funds of $50 million funded the tenth grant round. Subsequent grant rounds are anticipated to be funded with approximately $652 million in federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Funds (BEAD).

Grant Round 10 (FY 2025)

With $30 million available for Border-to-Border grants and the remaining $20 million for the Lower Population Density (Low-Density) grants, DEED opened the application window for the tenth grant round on March 12, 2024. Applications were due by 1:30 p.m. Central Time on May 10, 2024. The Applicant Resources tab below has resources and document templates for grantees, the 2024 Application Process tab provides detail on the Round 10 application process, the 2024 Awards tab provides information on the current Grant Round 10 Awards (along with the prior Grant Round 9 Awards) and the remaining tabs provide information on past grant awards.

The important deadlines for Grant Round 10:

  • March 12, 2024 – DEED's Grant Management System opened to applicants
  • March 21, 2024 - Broadband Grant Round 10 Webinar
  • March 29, 2024 – last day of notification to existing providers of applicant’s intent to file an application [required by Minn. Stat. 116J.395 subd. 5(9)]
  • April 23, 2024 – first day an applicant was able to submit a completed application in DEED’s Grant Management System based on when they completed their pre-application notification
  • May 10, 2024 – window closed so completed applications were to be submitted in DEED’s Grant Management System by 1:30 p.m. Central Time
  • May 15, 2024 – challenge process began
  • June 14, 2024 – challenge process ended at 4:00 pm Central Time
  • Summer 20242024 Grant Round 10 awards (see tab below)
  • June 30, 2027* – projects need to be completed (contract end date)

*Due to awards being made later than anticipated, this date was changed from December 31, 2026 to allow for additional construction season time.

Note: To be eligible to apply for the 2024 Grant Round 10 the Pre-Application Outreach to Existing Wireline Providers (DOCX) needed to be completed by March 29, 2024.

Please continue to visit this page of the Office of Broadband Development website to stay up-to-date on the Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program or Sign Up For Broadband Updates.

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