Many key community organizations located in rural Minnesota towns such as Detroit Lakes, Luverne, Hinckley, and Wabasha report limited access to low cost high-speed broadband services. Enventis Telecom, as part of the Greater Minnesota Broadband Collaborative, proposes to construct a brand new 428-mile fiber network that would provide middle-mile service at speeds of up to 10 Gbps and enable connections to anchor institutions and businesses across a 23-county area of the state. The project intends to expand distance learning and training opportunities throughout the state, while offering high-capacity services to community organizations in the area.

Among the anchor institutions already committed to working directly with the grantee and its partner the State of Minnesota’s Office of Enterprise Technology are the University of Minnesota at Duluth, Little Falls Police Department, and St. Gabriel’s Hospital.