By: Jacob Orledge
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota is on schedule to have high-speed internet access in 100% of the state by 2028 thanks to recently approved federal funding.
The state expects to receive $6 million from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, a $42 billion initiative included in the infrastructure bill passed under the Biden administration. The funding will be awarded to a pair of local internet carriers, BEK and Midco, to install fiber connections to the last 279 locations in the state without access to high-speed internet.
North Dakota would become the first state in the nation to provide 100% access to broadband internet. The final connections are expected to be completed by 2028, though it may be sooner depending on construction timelines.
The achievement will be the culmination of decades of work and investment by local carriers to create a broadband network across the state.
“We’re helping them bring in the final percent,” said Brian Newby, director of the North Dakota Information Technology’s broadband program. “The 99% was all the sweat and financial risk that they took over the last 20 years.”
The 279 locations that remain unconnected to high-speed internet as of mid-2025 are scattered across the state, though many are located near Cass County, that likely face geographic obstacles like river crossings, Newby said.
“While we’re incredibly proud that North Dakota is widely recognized as one of the best-connected states in the country, our main focus has always been on our citizens,” said Corey Mock, North Dakota’s chief information officer. “This approval represents a major leap forward in achieving universal connectivity.”
The milestone will mean high-speed internet access will be available as an option throughout the state. But not all North Dakotans will automatically benefit. Approximately 16% of North Dakota households do not subscribe to a broadband internet service, according to 2020 census data cited in the state’s 2023 plan for the federal funding.
While affordability can be a factor, a National Telecommunications and Information Administration survey has shown the bulk of those who do not pay for high-speed internet access don’t see a need for it.
Three of the North Dakota counties with the lowest broadband subscription rates as of 2023 were Benson, Sioux and Sheridan counties.
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., views the federal government’s approval of the funding plan to be key to the state’s future.
“Not only does approval of North Dakota’s final proposal unlock new opportunities across the state, that’s a given, but it really opens the door to a more connected future which is everything,” Cramer said in a statement.
Cramer and Newby emphasized that much of the credit for North Dakota’s robust broadband network is owed to the local providers that have built it out over the years.
“They did a lot of personal investment, took a lot of risks, maybe as long as 20 years ago, the co-ops and the local exchange carriers, to get North Dakota to a place where they only have a few hundred left at this point,” Newby said. “We’re facilitating the funds to get to the carriers, which is very important, but it’s really not meant in any way to overshadow the huge accomplishment that they’ve done.”
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