Mediacom Communications said Tuesday it completed 12 fiber broadband projects across Minnesota ahead of schedule, adding more than 400 miles of last-mile fiber and serving about 3,900 homes and businesses. The effort was a two-year public-private collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), with a total public-private investment exceeding $24 million.
About 90% of the newly built fiber miles were laid in some of Minnesota’s hardest-to-serve areas, including the Iron Range in the north. The company reported private capital investments of more than $13 million and $11 million in DEED grant funding, and said it used private dollars to extend service to an additional 1,600 locations beyond the initial build.
“Through this public‑private collaboration, thousands of Minnesotans now have access to reliable, high‑speed broadband that can be truly life changing,” said Chris Lord, Mediacom’s senior director of government partnership opportunities, in the company statement.
DEED’s executive director Bree Maki described the projects as part of a broader effort to close Minnesota’s connectivity gaps, emphasizing that broadband is essential for work, education, health care, and civic participation.
Mediacom, which serves more than 3 million households and businesses across 22 states, framed Minnesota work as part of a wider strategy to deploy gigabit broadband to smaller markets in the Midwest and Southeast.
Note: Some AI tools assisted in the crafting of this report.
