At the City Council meeting on February 7, 2022, the City Council approved an agreement with Midcontinent Communications (Midco) for the build out of broadband services for 495 homes in the City of Minnetrista.
There has been a gap in the availability of reliable high speed internet service in the City of Minnetrista which has been exacerbated by the COIVD-19 pandemic. The Council made it a top priority to find solutions to fill this gap in essential service.
On January 3, 2022, Midco proposed to construct facilities and provide reliable high speed internet service to 495 homes to fill the broadband availability gap in the city. The proposal includes an estimated total construction cost $2.57 million. The City Council approved a local contribution of $400,000, using a portion of the American Rescue Plan Act funds received from the Federal Government earmarked for municipalities to invest in broadband infrastructure.
The agreement will provide nearly 500 Minnetrista homes with increased speeds of up to 5 gigabit per second downloads and 2 gigabit per second uploads by July 1, 2023, although we are hopeful that the project will be significantly completed by December 31, 2022. The city is excited to get this project underway!
What is the cost to the customer?
Midco offers month to month contracts for fiber internet service. Their most popular speed packages begin at $49.99-$99.95 per month with several tiers in between. They also offer higher tiers of service which is more geared towards businesses versus residential, but is offered to everyone.
Tentative Project Schedule
Project Milestone | Estimated Start | Estimated Complete |
---|---|---|
Permits Acquired | January 2022 | March 2022 |
Contractor Selected | February 2022 | March 2022 |
Project Final Design Completed | March 2022 | April 2022 |
Purchase & Receive Materials | April 2022 | August 2022 |
Construction of Plant | August 2022 | November 2022 |
Test & Activation of System | November 2022 | December 2022 |
Begin Customer Installation | December 2022 | July 2023 |