Minnesota

Kristi Westbrock, CEO and general manager of Consolidated Telecommunications Company, warned that imposing a per-location price cap under the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program would be “terribly detrimental” to the state’s progress toward universal fiber access. “All of the locations that are left are really high-cost areas,” she said at the USTelecom 2025 American Connectivity Forum. “So, the number one leading concern definitely is the discussion around ca

At least two states—Maine and Minnesota—have contacted the U.S. Department of Commerce concerning the changes that may be made to the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. Minnesota’s suggestions about BEAD came via a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick from Bree Maki, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development.

Minnesota’s push to bring high-speed internet to every corner of the state could hit a roadblock.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced today that nearly 89,000 Minnesota homes and businesses could receive new high-speed broadband service through the state's $652 million federal Broadband Equity Access and Deployment allocation. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has formally accepted DEED's proposed map of final eligible locations that BEAD funding could serve.

The Minnesota Office of Broadband Development (OBD) received over $12 million from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to implement its Digital Opportunity Plan using Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funds.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recommended for award more than $250 million to 24 organizations to support digital skills and inclusion projects in communities across the country. The funding will support 24 projects across 39 states and territories. Awards will be issued following budget review and processing. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $313 million in funding to connect rural residents, farmers and business owners in 18 states to reliable high-speed internet.

While Minnesota will be receiving $652 million from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to help fund broadband access projects across the state, many internet service providers might not opt-in over frustrations with the program. “My members are telling me they’re not going to participate,” said Brent Christensen, president and CEO of Minnesota Telecom Alliance. “The way that BEAD is structured.

In 2023, AT&T announced a 50/50 joint venture with the investment firm BlackRock to form an open-access fiber network company called Gigapower, with AT&T Fiber as the anchor tenant. The Communications Workers of America (CWA), which represents the majority of AT&T’s frontline workforce, has closely tracked the Gigapower build-out in several markets. This report is the first in a series of market spotlights looking at Gigapower’s deployments nationwide, and finds the following: