FARGO — A $19.7 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will help fund the Dakota Carrier Network (DNC) Statewide Middle Mile Backbone Upgrade to bring better broadband services to North Dakota.

The upgrade is a $43.8 million project. It is comprised of two elements: adding middle mile fiber route miles and upgrading electronics to support the increased network demand to terabit speed. DCN’s owner companies participating in this grant are BEK Communications, Steele; Dakota Central, Carrington; MLGC, Enderlin; and RTC Networks, Parshall.

“Middle mile” refers to the segment of a broadband network that connects the user’s core network to the local network, connecting the global internet to the end user. The middle mile typically serves as the backbone for a region and does not directly connect end-user locations.

DCN will add five new network segments across the state: Bismarck to Carrington, Jamestown to Carrington, Devils Lake to Carrington, Fargo to Carrington, and Alexander to Max. These segments will add 612.99 leased fiber route miles to DCN’s middle mile backbone infrastructure.  Altogether, the project will add 874.59 fiber route miles across the state.

It is estimated that the entire project will be complete by year end 2025.