Fiber to the Home – Crosby/Ironton, MN

Challenge

Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) commissioned two fiber-to-the-home projects in the Crosby & Ironton, MN areas that bring fiber optics to parts of central Minnesota. Many of the rural areas around Crosby & Ironton, MN were either unserved or underserved with broadband services.

Solution

Two different projects would cover around 200 miles of new fiber installation in the area. Both projects had different funding sources. The Minnesota Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) project installed around 116 miles of cable that covered about 33 sq mi with the potential to serve 540 subscribers. The second project was funded by USDA’s Community Connect (CC) Grants program and covered around 38 sq mi with 74 miles of cable being installed and a potential to serve 233 subscribers. Both projects aided Consolidated Telephone Company in overbuilding an area of rural Minnesota that lacked adequate broadband services.

Outcome

Design & staking for the projects was started in July of 2022 with permitting being completed by the end of 2022. Construction of the projects started in 2023 and will be completed in 2024. CNE helped with the design, staking, bid letting, contract execution, project management, and construction management for the projects. Once construction is completed on both projects, residents in this area will have access to faster and more reliable broadband services capable of gigabyte speeds.