Todd County Broadband Coalition needs you to take their survey
by Trinity Gruenberg
The Todd County Broadband Coalition is making strides in bringing broadband to the county. But...they need your help...so please complete their survey so that they may move forward.
The coalition began in an effort to form a group to help bring high speed internet to the county. The group grew and the Northern Todd County Broadband Coalition was formed.
As more people and organizations became involved, including Region 5, The Initiative Foundation, The Blandin Foundation, Todd County Economic Development, schools, cities and townships, and the county, their range grew to encompass the entire county. They became the Todd County Broadband Coalition (TCBC).
The need for broadband in the county is great. Many cities and most of the rural area are underserved or unserved with any type of reliable high speed internet. The pandemic brought about the great need for better internet with many kids e-learning, people working from home, telehealth visits and even just communicating with friends and family online.
Hot spots, DSL and Satellite internet are no longer enough. Todd County ranks 82 out of 87 with under half of our residents served with broadband.
The state of Minnesota set a statute in 2021 for broadband accessibility. No later than 2022, all Minnesota homes and businesses are to have access to high-speed broadband that provides minimum download speeds of at least 25 Mbps and minimum upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps. No later than 2026, all Minnesota homes and businesses will have access to at least one provider of broadband with download speeds of at least 100 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 20 Mbps.
It is a goal of the state that by 2022 and thereafter, the state be in: the top five states of the United States for broadband speed universally accessible to residents and businesses; the top five states for broadband access; and the top 15 when compared to countries globally for broadband penetration.
As of October 2021, only 14% of Todd County met the state’s 2026 goal.
In November 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law and provided $65 billion for broadband infrastructure.
The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) launched a Request for Proposals that will award $95 million in broadband grants across the state for the Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program. Funding from two sources—state and federal—can be used to reimburse up to half the cost of the broadband infrastructure deployed. Funding for a single project is capped at $5 million.
On July 14, the Department of the Treasury awarded federal funding to expand broadband access in Minnesota. The funding, enabled by the Treasury Department’s Capital Projects Fund created through the American Rescue Plan, will provide $68.4 million to Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program (B2B Grant Program), allowing broadband providers to service more than 23,000 homes and businesses across the state that lack high-speed internet.
There is a need, there is funding, and a need for someone to lead the way to make this happen in Todd County. The TCBC is the bridge between the needs, obtaining funding and bringing high speed internet to the county sooner rather than later.
TCBC’s vision is to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed internet to the citizens of the county in order to enhance and allow more opportunity for our communities, our economy, education systems and healthcare facilities.
“When the state of Minnesota’s 2026 goal comes around, we could still be severely underserviced. That’s why they started this coalition. Todd County has waited long enough for broadband. Our communities deserve fast, affordable, reliable internet.”
The coalition is comprised of residents across Todd County that know the needs and came together to spread the word and to accomplish the goal of obtaining high speed internet now.
Many of the members have participated in training through the Blandin Foundation to better educate themselves on what would be best for the county.
In the past few months, they have received a $10,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation to help with administrative costs and $20,000 of ARPA funds through the county to assist with the survey.
This survey is vital to move forward. It will help them better understand the need for better internet, what people are currently using for internet, current internet speeds, and help to create a better map of where the needs are greatest.
“The survey will tell us what we already have for broadband and what we need. We need that information as part of the application process for these grants. It’s a necessary step for us. The more people we can get to take the survey, the more accurate it will be,” said Ken Hovet of Long Prairie, coalition chair.
“Please, do the survey,” he added.
The deadline to complete the survey is September 1.
This important information is needed to move to the next step, a feasibility study.
Visit toddcountybroadband.com to take the survey online. You can also find it on Facebook at toddcountybroadband.
A physical survey can be picked up at: Bertha City Hall, Browerville School, your local CentraCare, the Independent New Herald in Clarissa and John’s Computer Shop at the Hart Mall in Long Prairie. They can be dropped off at: Bertha City Hall, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle School, Browerville School, Staples-Motley School District Office, your local CentraCare, the Independent New Herald in Clarissa, and John’s Computer Shop.