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Woodstock Communications has received a $1,612,932 state broadband grant to provide fiber optic internet access to the white area on this map. Pipestone County and Woodstock Communications agreed last fall to split the remaining $537,644 that the project is estimated to cost. File image
Woodstock Communications has been awarded a $1,612,932 broadband grant for a project that would provide fiber optic internet in the Hatfield area. The grant was among $50 million in grants to expand broadband access to an estimated 8,900 homes and businesses throughout Minnesota that were announced on March 5.
“We are excited for the grant area,” said Woodstock Communications General Manager Terry Nelson.
He said the company planned to start the designing, engineering, and permitting processes this summer, and that construction could start in the spring of 2025. He plans to update the Pipestone County Commissioners on the project at their March 26 meeting and hoped to have more information at that time.
The project is estimated to cost $2,150,576, which will be paid for with the grant and a $537,644 local match. The Pipestone County Commissioners voted in October to provide $268,822 for the project, which would cover half of the local match, contingent upon Woodstock Communications receiving the grant to cover 75 percent of the cost.
According to the grant award announcement from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, there are 116 total passings in the project area, consisting of 32 unserved households, three unserved businesses and 47 unserved farms. The project will also service 24 under served households, two under served businesses and eight under served farms, according to the announcement.
The project in the Hatfield area is phase one of a multi-phase project to provide fiber internet access to all the rural parts of Pipestone County. Nelson said last fall that Woodstock Communications was going to try to do one phase a year. He said the phases were necessary for logistical purposes and in order to obtain grants to make the projects feasible.
