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Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company, headquartered in Jackson, is one of 14 Nebraska broadband providers to receive state funding to expand broadband services into rural areas of Nebraska who do not have broadband access of at least 100/100 megabites per second (up/down).

NNTC will receive $2.5 million from the Nebraska broadband Bridge Program on behalf of the Nebraska Public Service Commission to expand into rural Dakota and Antelope counties.

In Antelope County, NNTC will be installing underground fiber north of Clearwater and south of Orchard and Royal to cover more than 70 square miles of rural farmsteads and ag-based businesses. With the expansion, 111 homes and businesses will have access to Fiber Fast Internet once the project is complete.

In Dakota County, NNTC will expand broadband through a 100% fiber connection south of Hubbard and west of Homer, connecting 76 homes to Fiber Fast Internet. Fiber will be buried throughout the 27-square miles of rugged terrain within the bluffs of Dakota County.

"The Nebraska broadband Bridge grant program is designed to help provide service to the most difficult (costly) locations in Nebraska, and we are excited to do our part in making sure every Nebraskan has great internet service. America's communications' networks are stronger when all people, whether urban or rural, have equal access to services. Without a grant like this, many parts of rural America would continue to be left behind our metro areas," said NNTC GM/CEO Pat McElroy.

Both projects have an expected competition date of mid-2024. The two expansions by NNTC in rural Nebraska will provide a minimum network connection of 100/100 Mbps (up/down) to unserved (less than 25 upload/3 download) areas.

One hundred fifteen grant applications were received by the state for the $20.3 million available for the 2022 NBBP grant cycle. To see a list of all NBBP grant recipients, visit http://www.psc.nebraska.gov

Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company is a telephone, internet and television service provider headquartered in Jackson. NNTC serves 30 communities throughout 24 counties in northeast Nebraska. Founded in 1955, NNTC is one of Nebraska's first telephone cooperatives providing fiber service to 100% of its customers.