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Dunn County endorses two providers for BEAD project units; divides county along Highway 170 for support
Summary
The executive committee endorsed Mosaic Technologies for project units north of Highway 170 and 247 Telecom for units south of Highway 170, giving both providers points in upcoming BEAD grant rounds, county officials said.
Dunn County's executive committee on Jan. 8 unanimously endorsed two Internet service providers for federal BEAD grant project units in the county, mapping endorsement areas roughly along Highway 170.
The BEAD program (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment), created by the federal bipartisan infrastructure law, funnels funds through states to expand broadband to unserved and underserved locations. County staff said endorsements carry weight in the state scoring process and provide a provider up to eight points in BEAD grant applications.
County staff described two endorsement requests: Mosaic Technologies sought approval for a cluster of five project units in the Hay River area (treated as a single contiguous project), and 247 Telecom had submitted material for areas in other parts of the county. The broadband task force recommended endorsing Mosaic for project units north of Highway 170 and 247 Telecom for areas south of Highway 170.
Task force members and supervisors said earlier grants and coordination among local providers helped place Dunn County among the state's better-covered rural counties; staff said only about 20 buildings would remain unserved if planned projects proceed. Committee members thanked the broadband task force and named local providers' willingness to assume financial and deployment risk as critical to progress.
Decision: The executive committee endorsed Mosaic Technologies for the northern project units and 247 Telecom for the southern units; staff will provide the county's endorsement letters to the Public Service Commission as part of the BEAD application process.
Ending: County staff said the endorsements do not guarantee grant awards but improve a provider's score in the state's BEAD evaluation process and help coordinate countywide broadband coverage planning.
