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2021-MRBC-Fact-Sheet_Logos-and-Listing Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition Fact Sheet 2021 Goal: The Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition requests 92nd Legislature to fund the Border- to-Border Broadband Development Grant program with $120 million in ongoing funding in the 2022-2023 biennial budget to help achieve the state’s 2026 broadband speed goal of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload. Consistent and stable funding of the grant program is important to allow economic development agencies, local governments and others to be creative and collaborative in their approach to providing broadband services to these areas. Background: The Legislature funded the Grant Program at $40 million in the 2020-21 biennial budget, the largest multi-year investment in the state’s history. However, 157,000 households across the state are still unserved. COVID-19 has only amplified the need for broadband. The Governor’s Task Force on Broadband 2020 Report recommends $120 million per biennium in ongoing funding. This level of funding will provide minimum broadband internet speeds of 25 Mbps/3 Mbps to the households and businesses that currently lack such service—and will help Minnesota achieve its statutory broadband speed goal of connecting all Minnesotans with broadband internet speeds of 100 Mbps/20 Mbps by 2026. Broadband and internet speeds are improving across Minnesota. What we’ve achieved is a patchwork of highly successful areas, leaving behind many rural areas that are underserved and will have difficult time reaching the goal without state assistance grants. Many states across the country look to Minnesota as a national leader on rural broadband development. Despite all the good work that we’ve done, there is still much more to be done to ensure everyone has access. “Everyone in Minnesota will be able to use convenient, affordable world-class broadband networks that enable us to survive and thrive in our communities and across the globe.” -The Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition’s vision Minnesota Rural Broadband Coalition Members Arrowhead Health Arrowhead Regional Development Commission Association of Minnesota Counties Barbara Dröher Chisago County HRA/EDA Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota City of Winthrop Clay County Cloquet Valley Internet Initiative Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities CoBank Community of Minnesota Resorts Community Technology Advisors Corp Consolidated Telephone Company Cooperative Lights Cooperative Network Cooperative Network Services Development Services, Inc. East Central MN Educational Cable Cooperative East Central Regional Development Commission Economic Development Association of Minnesota EssentiaHealth Federated Rural Electric Finley Engineering Fond du Lac Tribal Communications GPS 45:93 Great River Energy Greater Minnesota Partnership Growth and Justice Hay Creek Township Headwaters Regional Development Commission Hiawatha Broadband Communications IMPACT 20/20 Institute for Local SelfReliance Iron Range Economic Alliance Isanti County ISD 317 Deer River Jody Kramer, CPA Kanabec County EDA Kandiyohi County Economic Development League of Minnesota Cities Leech Lake Tribal Telecommunications Le Sueur County Broadband Coalition Lincoln County EDC Meeker Cooperative Meeker County EDA MidMinnesota Development Commission MiEnergy Cooperative Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative Minnesota Association of Professional County Economic Developers Minnesota Association of Small Cities Minnesota Association of Townships Minnesota Corn Growers Association Minnesota Farm Bureau Minnesota Farmers Union Minnesota Library Association Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association Minnesota Public Broadband Alliance Minnesota Rural Education Association Minnesota Rural Electric Association Minnesota Soybean Growers Association MN Association of Community Telecommunications and Administrators MN River Valley Education District MN Rural Counties Caucus MN Telecom Alliance MVTV Wireless Neighborhood National Bank Nemadji Research Corporation Nobles County Economic Opportunity Network North Region Health Alliance North Star Township Northeast Service Cooperative Northland Foundation Northwest Minnesota Foundation NW Regional Development Commission PCs for People Project FINE Range Association of Municipalities and Schools Redwing Ignite Redwood County Region 5 Regional Development Commission Region Nine Development Commission Schools for Equity in Education Sherburne County EDA Sourcewell Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation Southwest Initiative Foundation Southwest Regional Development Commission SPIRE Credit Union Treacy Information Services Turtle Island Communications Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission West Central Initiative Winthrop EDA