May 20, 2012

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Impact Statement

Northeast Middle Mile Fiber Project to impact 8 counties and hundreds of sites with world-class education, health care, county, state and emergency services.

A broad-based initiative impacting eight counties, connecting hundreds of sites and nearly 1/4th of the state’s land mass, the Northeast Middle Mile Project will deploy a 915 mile fiber optic network to expand broadband services throughout strategically vital Northeast Minnesota, including communities that remain underserved and unserved.  A $43.5 million investment through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the project will deliver short and long-term results by leveraging federal funds, creating jobs, boosting economic growth, bridging the technological divide, and improving education, healthcare, county, state and emergency services in the region.

Over the next few years, the Northeast Middle Mile Fiber Project will create up to seven jobs in   the service sector and 91 jobs in the supply chain and construction industry.  Long-term, the project becomes a permanent asset, a community resource and an economic development engine for the Northeast region and the State of Minnesota. 

In fact, region-wide middle mile connectivity will help sustain infrastructure in the public sector and spur new development in the private sector.  Along with the potential to create jobs, current initiatives, public and private, will have powerful new tools to help control costs, increase capacity and improve efficiency.

The project will impact the entire Northeast region including Duluth, the Iron Range and the    Carlton County I-35 corridor while helping to ensure the long-term health and vitality of remote but strategically important communities such as Grand Marais, Ely and International Falls.  Among its many benefits, the Northeast Middle Mile Fiber Project will meet growing demand at the University of Minnesota, Duluth for connectivity within the state university system, high-bandwidth needs for special projects such as the High Energy Physics Lab at the Soudan Underground Laboratory, development and growth for the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, redundant interconnections for state and emergency services, and options for clinical care, “call coverage” and collaboration among area health care providers.

Construction of the Northeast Middle Mile Project will begin in 2011 and be completed in 2012.  Services at primary sites will be available by the end of 2012 although the full impact of the project will be an ongoing byproduct of engaged communities and public-private partnerships.       

 

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