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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) USDA Rural Development state director Jasper Schneider says million in loans to expand or improve broadband service in rural parts of North Dakota has been approved.

Schneider says “having a high-speed connection to the Internet improves access to educational and health care services. It also creates new business and job opportunities.”

The loans are being funded through USDA’s Rural Utilities Service to finance projects that build-out broadband networks. The funding will strengthen rural economies, which are vital to building a more prosperous America.

Griggs County Telephone Company received a $4.7 million loan to deploy fiber-to-the-home in Binford and Cooperstown. The company will also upgrade its four exchanges. The project will provide expanded voice, video and data services to 682 subscribers.

The Red River Rural Telephone Association received at $8.5 million loan to construct 145 miles of buried fiber optic cable in Abercrombie, Colfax, Fairmount, Great Bend, Hankinson, Lidgerwood, Mooreton and Wyndmere in North Dakota; and in Barnesville and Rollag in Minnesota.

Burying the cable will complete Red River’s fiber-to-the-home network. The upgraded system will meet current and future requirements for voice, video and high-speed data services to subscribers.