GOODHUE — The Web surfing will be a lot faster in and around Goodhue in the near future. Nu-Telecom of New Ulm has been awarded a grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development to improve and expand rural broadband.
DEED awarded NU-Telecom $115,934, and the company has matched that and more with an additional $244,073 for the project that will bring fiber-optic cable connections to residential and business customers in the area.
"We're plowing in fiber-optic broadband in the Goodhue area," said Monty Morrow, regulatory and legislative coordinator at Nu-Telecom. "This will greatly allow us to expand our reach and speeds."
The grant is part of $10 million set aside by the state legislature for rural broadband infrastructure for projects in 2016. Morrow said the state has set aside $35 million for 2017.
While work began on Tuesday, NU-Telecom will host a project launch ceremony Monday, Morrow said. The project should be finished this summer.
