Parker River, North Dakota-This spring, Polar Communications will begin the second phase of its project to provide high-speed broadband Internet to customers in northeastern North Dakota that previously had insufficient access.

The Parker River-based company is using a combination of $21.2 million in loans and grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ReConnect program to provide broadband technology to rural homes and businesses in North Dakota. This funding was announced in January 2020 during the first round of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ReConnect pilot program.

Also in this round, Daktel Communications of Jamestown received a $1.8 million grant to provide broadband services to approximately 400 households and three educational facilities located in an area of ​​354 square miles.

The ReConnect pilot program provides federal funds and funds to accelerate the deployment of broadband in rural areas with insufficient Internet service. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the legal definition of insufficient access is 10 megabits per second downstream and 1 megabit per second upstream.

Karl Blake, CEO of Polar Communications, stated that Polar Communications customers will be able to choose a package that offers symmetrical broadband speeds from 50 megabits to 1 gigabit. He said that if customers want high broadband speeds, the company has the ability to provide speeds up to 10 Gb. High-speed broadband will enable customers to access various services at high speed, including telemedicine, e-commerce, and video streaming.

In 2020, the Parker River-based company laid cables for 859 customers in parts of the western part of Walsh County and Grand Forks County. Black said broadband services for 134 of these customers are already in operation, and the remaining customers will be connected this spring.

When the ground thaws, Polar Communications will lay an additional 500 miles of fiber optic cable in eastern Grand Forks County. The company hopes to freeze the cable in place.

The broadband provided by Polar Communications through the ReConnect program is expected to benefit more than 2,000 families, six education centers, one healthcare center, and one critical community in Grand Forks and Walsh counties.

Black said that the coronavirus pandemic has caused people to work from home and students almost go to school, which highlights the importance of high-speed broadband Internet.

"This is a good thing for Polar, but for customers, access to this service is even more important," he said.

In December 2019, former Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that the agency will provide an additional US$550 million in ReConnect funds for grants, up to US$200 million for a 50/50 loan grant portfolio, and a maximum of 200 million US dollars. U.S. dollars are used for the second round of low-interest loans. Reconnect the program.

The Ministry of Agriculture announced in October 2020 that the Reservation Telephone Cooperative had received a $6.9 million ReConnect grant for the construction of a fiber optic network. The network will provide broadband Internet access to individuals, businesses, schools, and fire stations in Mackenzie County, North Dakota, and Dawson, Richland, and Weibo Counties in Montana.