Arvig has been awarded grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s (DEED) Office of Broadband Development. The company will invest the funding in fiber-to-the-home expansion to bring Gigabit-level internet speeds to three Minnesota counties.
Arvig received three grants totaling more than $4.3 million from two DEED programs: the Border to Border Broadband and Low Population Density programs. Arvig will invest another $870,075 for additional project costs.
With the funding, an estimated 417 structures will be served, and about 105 route miles of fiber will be constructed. The project area includes the Grand Meadow area in Mower County, the rural Elrosa, Sauk Centre, and Roscoe areas in Stearns County and the village of Naytahwaush in Mahnomen County.
When complete, homes and businesses in those counties will have access to internet service with speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second download and 1 Gigabit upload, as well as television, phone and business services. This Arvig network build will exceed the state’s minimum speed target of offering at least 100Mbps per second download and upload speeds of at least 20 megabits per second.
Construction will begin in 2025 after all permits have been acquired and required environmental studies have been completed. The projects are scheduled to be completed by June 2026.
David Arvig, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Arvig
We’re excited to be able to use these grants to expand Gigabit internet services in these counties. Access to Gig-level speeds gives rural Minnesota a big advantage and ensures homes and businesses have the best experience for streaming, gaming, working from home and staying connected to the world.
