SWMBG will be building fiber-to-the-premise infrastructure to eight rural communities throughout Southwestern Minnesota. The network will consist of a 125 mile fiber ring which will connect the eight communities and an FTTP infrastructure within the communities that will support a total of over 3,500 passings
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The SWMBG will be “Bringing real Broadband” to the following communities:
Here are the latest meeting minutes:
Our next meeting is 6:00 pm August 24th at the Lakefield Fire Hall. Below are agendas and minutes from past meetings:
A new report (Connecting Rural America) is out on the outcomes of the RUS-funded ARRA projects. According to the report…
So far, the more than $1 billion in funding awarded by RUS has been used to fund 68 projects in 31 states. During a conference call with reporters, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the projects will bring broadband service to an estimated 529,249 households, 92,754 businesses and 3,332 so-called “anchor” institutions, such as schools, hospitals, libraries and other community facilities.
Minnesota’s Windom/Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group project is one of nine featured projects…
Minnesota
The city of Windom, Minn., a member of the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group (SWMBG), will provide Fiber-To-The-Premises (FTTP) infrastructure to eight rural communities in southwestern Minnesota. SWMBG includes the communities of Jackson, Lakefield, Windom, Round Lake, Bingham Lake, Brewster, Wilder, Heron Lake, and Okabena. The network will consist of a 125-mile fiber ring that will connect the communities to the Windomnet network and an FTTP infrastructure within the communities. The ring will be 96 strands with a 1-gigabyte transport network that is easily upgradeable to 10 gigabytes.
The report also gives brief summaries of all funded projects listed by state.
Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services (SMBS) is pleased to announce it has accepted the RUS loan-grant combination and now awaits the final documents to close on the financing package provided by the Rural Utility Service. Currently SMBS and its consulting staff are working to finalize the conditions and complete the process to begin RUS monies flowing. In addition SMBS has established its board members. Members are: Chair-Keith Stubbe of Round Lake, Vice-Chair-Darrell Nissen of Lakefield, Treasurer-Darren Kalvig of Bingham Lake, Secretary-John Hay of Heron Lake and Member at Large-Mitch Jasper of Jackson. The board continues to work with its consultants and RUS staff to continue moving the project along. The next Board Meeting for SMBS will be held on June 8th at 6:00pm at the Lakefield Fire Hall. The future site and times of board meetings will be posted on the SMBS website and member communities websites.
Some of the service provider competition is beginning to offer long-term contracts to residents and businesses in the member communities. Citizens should look closely at these contracts before they sign them and consider continuing month-to-month services as they always have with their service providers. It is not uncommon for service providers to begin to try and lock in existing customers before the new network is built. Consumers should ask their providers why they were not willing to provide these packages before competition came to their community.
In addition SMBS is sponsoring a brand-name and logo competition; we are looking for submissions that will be the face of SMBS to the community. The brand-name and logo should represent not only the next generation services that will be delivered but also the area that we are serving. The winner of the competition will receive six free months of SMBS services when available. The logo does not have to include SMBS but instead a catchy new name for the service. Be creative and submit your suggestions to our website: http://swmbg.com/?page_id=29. All of the rules and requirements for the competition will also be able to be found on the site. Due dates for submissions are July 12th, 2010 and a final winner will be chosen and announced at the SMBS August Board Meeting. All submissions become the property of SMBS.
In the coming months also look for the opportunity to participate in our competition to see which community can get the most customers presigned to the SMBS network.
The SMBS will be continually updated and is your best source for information on the project. Please check it out at www.swmbg.com.
About SMBS-Southwest Minnesota Broadband Services is the partnership of eight communities across southwestern Minnesota. SMBS will be building a $13 million network to provide next-generation voice, cable television and high-speed internet services to its customers. Additional information can be found at www.swmbg.com.
Press Release Contact-John Schultz 651 967-7196 and jschultz@u-rekabroadband.com (Download Word version of Press Release.)
We are very pleased with the good press that the SWMBG has been getting. It’s helping to build an interest in the project in and out of the region and we expect that will help promote greater broadband adoption.
The Minnesota Public Radio piece features Jackson and Wilder, two of the SWMBG communities. Jackson Mayor Mitch Jasper spoke about the expected impact on local businesses and improve ability to attract new businesses to the area with broadband. The story they featured in Wilder was more personal. They spoke with Wilder resident and current satellite user Tom Myrvold…
Staring at his computer screen, Wilder resident Tom Myrvold smiles because today he has Internet service. That’s not always the case.
“The biggest thing is reliability,” said Myrvold. “Last night when I came home, it didn’t work at all.”
Myrovold receives his Internet service from a communications dish on a grain elevator five miles away. He has to make sure he trims back tree limbs every year which could block the signal. Weather conditions like fog or rain can also hamper reception.
The planned fiber optics line should eliminate those problems, and provide Internet speeds that are as fast as anywhere.
We were pleased with the coverage our project got on Fox 12 out of Mankato. In the story, Jackson Mayor Mitch] Jasper talks about some of the reasons our ARRA application was successful…
But Jasper says the things that helped out the Windom-Jackson group the most were the large tie-in with all the communities, a proven model in Windom’s fiber optic network, and some help in Washington. Jasper says, “The only reason this happened was because of Senator Amy Klobachar. She was the driving force in Washington that went to bat for our group.”
We were also pleased with the Mayor’s comments on the expected impact of improved broadband…
Jasper says, “This is huge for business. We’ll have the highest fast-speed interest in the world – telephone and television with that. But the biggest thing is business. Because without business, you don’t have a city.
On February 17, we were pleased to receive a call telling us we had been selected to receive funding through a grant and a loan through the ARRA funding program. Below is the entire press release posted on the announcement by the USDA…
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES RURAL BROADBAND PROJECTS TO BRING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY TO COMMUNITIES IN NINE STATES
Filing Period For Round Two of Broadband Applications Opens This Week
WASHINGTON, February 17, 2010 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the selection of eleven Broadband Infrastructure projects to enable rural residents in nine states to have access to improved economic and educational opportunities. Funding for the projects is being provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law by President Obama a year ago today. Additionally, USDA and The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have announced that a second filing window for broadband applications opened this week.
“The broadband projects we’re announcing today will create construction jobs now to build high speed Internet networks in unserved and under-served communities. Deployment of broadband will support job creation and rural economic development,” Vilsack said. “The Obama Administration and USDA are bringing broadband to rural America so that Americans can compete in a global 21st Century economy. We are opening new opportunities not only for homes and businesses, but for community institutions such as health facilities, libraries, public buildings and community centers.”
In rural Kentucky, for example, the Mountain Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation (MRTCC) has been selected to receive a $39.8 million loan and a $38.3 million grant to deploy a fiber cable-based broadband network in the counties of Morgan, Menifee, Wolfe, and Elliott. All four counties are considered “distressed” by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and are challenged by mountainous terrain and limited highway and rail infrastructure. MRTCC will bring broadband access to these counties to enhance economic and educational opportunities for residents and employers.
In rural Minnesota, the Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group (SWMBG) has been selected to receive an almost $6.4 million loan and a $6.4 million grant to extend fiber to the Jackson, Lakefield, Windom, Round Lake, Bingham Lake, Brewster, Wilder, Heron Lake, and Okabena communities. This funding, along with an $88,000 private investment, will provide high-speed Internet, voice, and cable television to the participating communities. This will improve the quality of life by increasing the availability of health, education, and public safety services across the region.
In all, over $277 million will be invested in the 11 projects through funding made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An additional $1.6 million in private investment will be provided in matching funds. Congress provided USDA $2.5 billion in Recovery Act funding to help bring broadband services to rural un-served and underserved communities.
Funding of individual recipients is contingent upon their meeting the terms of the loan, grant or loan/grant agreement. Below is a complete list of recent Recovery Act Broadband award recipients by state:
Indiana
• Smithville Telephone Company, Inc.: $37,729,143 loan. The funding will provide 3,815 households, 209 businesses, and 12 community anchor institutions with access to broadband service.
Iowa
• Southeast Iowa Rural Wireless Broadband: $3,836,926 loan. The funding will provide Internet services to 80 rural communities using proven wireless technology.
Kentucky
• Mountain Rural Telephone Cooperative Corporation (MRTCC) ILEC Broadband: $39,843,535 loan and $38,281,044 grant. The funding will provide fiber to Morgan, Menifee, Wolfe, and Elliott counties that will result in 20 Mbps bandwidth to end users.
Louisiana
• Allen’s Cable – Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) Broadband Network Extension: $3,584,680 loan and $3,513,697 grant. The funding will extend fiber into rural areas of three South Louisiana Parishes.
• LBH, LLC, – Rural Broadband Powered by Fiber: $16,693,439 loan and $16,691,939 grant. The funding will expand existing broadband into rural areas around Moss Bluff, Oakdale, and Vinton.
Minnesota
• Southwest Minnesota Broadband Group (SWMBG): $6,350,000 loan and $6,350,250 grant. The funding will provide service to eight rural communities throughout Southwest Minnesota.
Missouri
• Unionville, Missouri FTTP Project: $5,140,458 loan and $5,140,458 grant. The funding will provide broadband services to households, businesses, and key community organizations that are currently underserved in the Unionville area.
New Mexico
• Western New Mexico Telephone Company, Broadband Infrastructure Project: $11,516,679 grant. The funding will provide last mile broadband services to remote and unserved locations and critical community facilities throughout Western New Mexico.
• Baca Valley Telephone Company, Inc.: $1,651,000 loan and $1,586,000 grant. The funding will expand fiber optics to Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) nodes in rural Northeastern New Mexico, replacing outdated deteriorating copper wire and low bandwidth microwave transport systems in some areas, while providing new connectivity in others, and enabling advanced, high-speed DSL service throughout the area.
Oregon
• Sandy Broadband Infrastructure Project: $374,548 loan and $374,537 grant. The funding will provide broadband service to the underserved rural area of Sandy by improving and expanding wireless Internet service.
Texas
• Southern Texas Broadband Infrastructure Development and Adoption Project: $40,093,153 loan and $38,520,868 grant. The funding will develop a broadband infrastructure in eleven unserved and underserved rural communities of the South Texas Plains.
USDA is continuing to review broadband applications currently on file and expects to make additional announcements concerning awards throughout the current fiscal year. Additionally, The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) on Tuesday began accepting applications for a second round of broadband grants. Applications will be accepted until March 15, 2010 at 5 p.m. ET.
The application packages for electronic submissions is available at http://www.broadbandusa.gov. Electronic submissions of applications will allow for the expeditious review of an Applicant’s proposal, consistent with the goals of the Recovery Act. The government electronic application system will provide a date and time stamped confirmation number that will serve as proof of submission. The Recovery Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to the Department of Commerce and to USDA to accelerate broadband deployment in areas of the country that have been without the high-speed infrastructure.
You may obtain additional information regarding applications via the Internet at http://www.broadbandusa.gov.
President Obama signed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law on Feb. 17, 2009. It is designed to jumpstart the nation’s economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Act includes measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need.
More information about USDA’s Recovery Act efforts is available at www.usda.gov/recovery. More information about the Federal government’s efforts on the Recovery Act is available at www.recovery.gov.
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