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Broadband projects expected to bring high-speed internet to 62,000 Montana homes

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Sixty new projects to expand broadband in Montana are expected to bring high-speed internet to 62,000 homes

Gov. Greg Gianforte on Wednesday announces the state’s approval for using $309 million in federal COVID relief funding to pay for broadband expansion.

“All told, Montana will see over 3,000 miles of fiber put in the ground," he said.

The projects that will lay those lines are expected to begin in early 2023.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, a third of Montanans don’t have access to broadband. Gianforte says the broadband expansion will bolster health care and education opportunities in rural areas as well as provide benefits to agricultural industries.

Copyright 2022 Montana Public Radio. To see more, visit Montana Public Radio.

Aaron is Montana Public Radio's Flathead reporter.