[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-586510-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-586510-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","state-k-12-broadband-leadership-2019-minnesota-case-study","State K-12 Broadband Leadership 2019 Minnesota Case Study","","Minnesota’s K-12 broadband strategy is built on equitable access to public education, emphasizing scalable infrastructure, high-speed affordable bandwidth, and ubiquitous Wi-Fi for digital learning. State agencies fund external broadband connections and regional network efforts, while MnIT delivers a leased statewide backbone to schools and libraries. Regional networks support coordination, procurement, and managed services through cooperative partners, often using federal E-rate bidding. The case study highlights measurable cost reductions, rising per-student speeds, and a fiber-based WAN deployment that improves reliability, cybersecurity, and broadband gap closure.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/state-k-12-broadband-leadership-2019-minnesota-case-study/586510/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/state-k-12-broadband-leadership-2019-minnesota-case-study/586510.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Quinn Holloway","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What statewide infrastructure does Minnesota provide to support K-12 broadband connectivity?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Minnesota funds external broadband connections and supports regional networks, while MnIT provides a leased statewide backbone network connecting cities, counties, schools, and libraries.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How do Minnesota school districts typically obtain broadband services through regional networks?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Districts generally join regional networks that can provide services; many rely on the federal E-rate program and use competitive bid processes to select or participate in wide area network arrangements.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What outcomes were highlighted from the 2018 Southwest West Central Service Cooperative fiber project?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The project delivered broadband to about 50 sites using fiber-based WAN connectivity, replaced microwave links, added managed routers for cybersecurity, and helped reach 99% of districts meeting broadband connectivity goals.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},586510,1792921920,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":111,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466712,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","State K-12 Broadband Leadership 2019 Minnesota Case Study  \nSTATE K-12 BROADBAND LEADERSHIP  \nMinnesota’s constitution calls for citizens to have access to an equitable public education system. As is the case with many states, Minnesota has concentrations of population in both urban centers and large areas of rural communities. Broadband access provides students with a wide range of educational opportunities both within and outside of their communities, regardless of whether they live in a large city or a small rural township. In addition, state leadership recognizes the significance of broadband connectivity for promoting economic development, employment, and business growth. From a state level, agencies such as the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) provide funding through grant opportunities and aid programs to help communities, schools, and public libraries achieve high speed broadband access. The Minnesota Office of Enterprise Technology (MnIT) provides a backbone network (leased, not state owned) throughout the state to deliver connectivity to cities, counties, public schools and libraries in various areas of Minnesota.  \nSince 1993, at the regional level, the Minnesota Education   \nTechnology Networks (METN), a cooperative of regional networks,  \nIn 2016, a joint partnership, between the Office of the Governor, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the national non-profit EducationSuperHighway established the Minnesota  \nK-12 Connect Forward  \nInitiative to ensure that  \nall students in the state have access to scalable infrastructure, high-speed affordable bandwidth, and ubiquitous Wi-Fi for digital learning.  \nprovides regional network development, support and leadership to Minnesota school districts. METN member cooperatives provide network coordination, procurement, and other support to help school districts acquire and manage broadband networks for instruction and education management. METN has also provided limited cooperative purchasing opportunities.  \nSTATE FUNDING  \nMinnesota provides state funding directly to the district for external broadband connections and directly to the regional networks. Through regional partnerships, the median cost of broadband (per mbps) in Minnesota schools has dropped 84% from $15 in 2015 to $2.35 in 2018. While cost has decreased, the amount of bandwidth necessary for students to participate in digital learning has increased. In the same period of time, the median bandwidth speeds available on a per student basis has increased almost four fold from 226kbps to 890kbps. Minnesota currently provides limited state funding for connectivity on buses and previously provided one-time grants that could be used to obtain hotspot devices for students to use off campus. Minnesota does not provide funding for internal wireless connections.  \nSTATEWIDE K-12 EDUCATION BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY  \nMinnesota provides education broadband connectivity through 19 regional networks. The process for joining a regional network varies slightly by region, but generally school districts join any network that can provide them with broadband services. Most school districts rely on the federal E-rate program to afford high speed broadband, so they use the corresponding competitive bid process either independently  \nState K-12 Broadband [Leadership 2019 | SETDA | www.setda.org |](Leadership 2019 | SETDA | www.setda.org |) [http://arcg.is/setdabroadbandmap](http://arcg.is/setdabroadbandmap) Page 23  \nto choose a regional network or the regional network completes a competitive bid process through  \nE-rate for the regional broadband network as a wide area network for all members. The networks are coordinated by a cooperative or nonprofit education agency that provides services to the K-12 education system. Minnesota estimates that 50% -74% of districts participate in a regiona","cbCaigVEVVFOqPgq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigVEVVFOqPgq","pdf",58733,"English","# State Funding\n# Statewide K-12 Education Broadband Connectivity\n# Regional Network Operations\n# Highlight: Southwest West Central Service Cooperative\n# Policies and Guidance for Districts","[{\"question\":\"What statewide infrastructure does Minnesota provide to support K-12 broadband connectivity?\",\"answer\":\"Minnesota funds external broadband connections and supports regional networks, while MnIT provides a leased statewide backbone network connecting cities, counties, schools, and libraries.\"},{\"question\":\"How do Minnesota school districts typically obtain broadband services through regional networks?\",\"answer\":\"Districts generally join regional networks that can provide services; many rely on the federal E-rate program and use competitive bid processes to select or participate in wide area network arrangements.\"},{\"question\":\"What outcomes were highlighted from the 2018 Southwest West Central Service Cooperative fiber project?\",\"answer\":\"The project delivered broadband to about 50 sites using fiber-based WAN connectivity, replaced microwave links, added managed routers for cybersecurity, and helped reach 99% of districts meeting broadband connectivity goals.\"}]","State K-12 Broadband Leadership 2019 Minnesota Case Study | PDF",1792058190]