12. Washington County Broadband Grant One Pager1
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Background The Washington County Broadband Grant Program includes matching grants for the expansion of
high-speed broadband within Washington County.
Funding The Washington County Board of Commissioners has allocated $2,000,000 to cities, townships and
broadband providers to use with a local match for broadband expansion. Applicants may request 1:1
matching grants.
Program Purpose To assist with financing for broadband infrastructure to unserved or underserved areas.
Program Goal Provide high speed, reliable and affordable internet access to unserved or underserved areas within
Washington County. Completed projects must allow enrollment in a low-income subsidy program.
Eligible Applicants Any Washington County city, township or broadband provider is eligible to apply.
Eligible Project Areas Any unserved or underserved area located within Washington County. For purposes of an ARPA
Broadband Grant, an unserved or underserved household or business is one that is not currently
served by a wireline connection that delivers a reliable broadband service with a minimum speed of
100 Mbps download and 20 Mbps upload (100/20 Mbps). This also includes any area with lack of
broadband and lack of reliable service.
Eligible Projects Only areas qualifying as unserved, or underserved are eligible for grant funding. However, an
applicant may choose to present information on a larger project area to demonstrate context and
sustainability of the proposal. The ARPA Broadband Matching Grant program has no minimum
project size. The project may be as small as one house or one business if it qualifies as an unserved
or underserved area. For example, an applicant could request grant funds for a small project
intended to address a service anomaly in an urban or suburban area that a provider has not been
able to address to date due to cost. Upon project completion service shall reliably meet or exceed
upload and download speeds of 100 Mbps unless it is impractical due to geography, topography or
excessive costs. In which, case 100 Mbps download speeds and 20 Mbps upload speeds are required.
Project Costs Recipients may use Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to cover limited costs
incurred for eligible projects on or after March 22, 2022. The limited costs are only pre-engineering,
purchase of materials, labor costs, and community engagement. The purpose of the grant program
is to assist in the costs of deploying the middle mile or last mile network. Ongoing maintenance
costs would not be eligible costs under the grant program.
Match Fund Requirements Requires a 1:1 financial match.
Application Process
Deadline Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the County Board’s allocation has been depleted.
Applications Applications will be located on the County website at www.washington.mn.us.
Contact Jill Zenzola, Accounting Supervisor, Jill.Zenzola@co.washington.mn.us, 651-430-6048
Broadband Grant Program