7. 2022 Overview and 2023-24 Window
Overview
The Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant Program was created in Minn. Stat.
116J.395 in 2014. The legislative focus of this grant program is to provide financial resources that
help make the business case for new and existing providers to invest in building broadband
infrastructure into unserved and underserved areas of the state. The Border-to-Border Broadband
Grant Program has been funded with state general fund revenues and a combination of both state
general fund revenues and federal American Rescue Pan Act (ARPA) Sec. 604 Capital Projects Funds
(CPF). With $70 million in ARPA CPF funds, and the remainder in state funding, the projects awarded
from applications submitted in the summer of 2022 are below.
In the 2022 legislative session, the legislature directed an additional $60.7 million of federal ARP A
funds to be used for broadband programs of which $42.6 million will be available for Border -to-
Border grants, including up to $30 million for a Low-Density Pilot program. Additionally in the 2022
session, the legislature allocated $25 million in state ge neral revenue funds to the Border-to-Border
grant program for FY24.
With the $25 million in state general revenue funding and $42.6 million in Capital Projects Funds,
DEED will open the application window for the FY2023/24 grant round on or around December 19,
2022. A maximum of $67.6 million will be available for grants this round, including up to $30 million
for a Low-Density Pilot program.
OBD intends to follow state law guidelines for the Border -to-Border Broadband Grant Program,
while building in any measures necessary to comply with federal requirements associated with use
of the Capital Projects Fund for the FY2023/24 grant round. Grants awarded will either be entirely
funded with state general revenue funds or ARPA Capital Projects Funds for ease of implementation
and compliance.
The 2022 Application Process tab below provides additional detail on the most recent grant round.
The remaining two tabs provide information on the grants awarded during the first six years the
program was offered (2014-2017, 2019-2020).
Please continue to visit this page of the Office of Broadband Development website to stay up to date
on the Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program.
https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/broadband/grant-program/