On October 9, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced the recipients for the tenth round of MN Border-to-Border Broadband Development grants. East Central Energy is fortunate to win two grants through this round of funding, totaling nearly $7 million. The grants will support the expansion of ECE Fiber in central and northern Mille Lacs County.

“As a cooperative, we are grateful for the support from entities like MN DEED. Their commitment to advancing the state’s broadband connectivity has been a major contributing factor to the growth of ECE Fiber,” says President/CEO Justin Jahnz.

Fiber construction plans are determined each year by grant area specifications and amount of member interest gathered. Construction will generally follow ECE’s power structure with both overhead and underground lines being installed, taking place from ground thaw to ground freeze each year.

“This is the third Border-to-Border grant that ECE has received for Mille Lacs County this year,” Jahnz explains. “As we develop the construction design for 2025, we are excited to expand into the county, which is currently ranked 75 out of 87 in the state for broadband accessibility.”

East Central Energy will continue to submit grant applications to help with the expansion of ECE Fiber, and to keep costs affordable for members. ECE members that live in Mille Lacs County and surrounding areas are encouraged to visit ecefiber.com to express interest in service.

Grant areas are in orange on the map.