Paul Bunyan Communications has built one of the largest rural all-fiber optic networks in the United States that gives our members and region access to the fastest Internet speeds available.  This enables innovation, economic development, telehealth, online learning, and so much more.  A few times a year we will share the story of a member and how they utilize our broadband communications network.

Our first Member Technology Spotlight is on Bemidji Steel and their brand new state of the art facility in rural Hubbard County just south of Bemidji.  A facility that would not have been possible without our all-fiber optic network!

View on YouTube: Member Technology Spotlight Video: Bemidji Steel

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Join us for the Grand Rapids Chamber Taking Care of Business sponsored by Paul Bunyan Communications on Wednesday, September 28 from 4-7 p.m. at Timberlake Lodge.  Admission is FREE, you can meet new people, learn more about a wide variety of local businesses, and be sure to stop at our booth to enter a drawing for a mini iPad!!

Paul Bunyan Communications and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are promoting Lifeline Awareness Week, September 12-16.

“Access to reliable high speed Internet service is critical.  We promote the Lifeline and the Affordable Connectivity Program a lot throughout the year and Lifeline Awareness Week is another opportunity to spread the word about these programs.  We want to make sure all of our membership and those who live within our service area know about them and the benefit they can provide.  These programs help those struggling to afford Internet services get and stay connected!” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager

Lifeline is an FCC program designed to help make communications services more affordable for low-income consumers.  Lifeline provides up to a $9.25 monthly discount on qualifying voice and broadband services for eligible low-income subscribers and up to $34.25 per month for subscribers on qualifying Tribal lands.  To learn more about Lifeline, go to www.fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers or www.lifelinesupport.org/.

A new FCC program, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), is also now available to help families and households struggling to afford internet service.  The Affordable Connectivity Program provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands.  Additional information about the Affordable Connectivity Program Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.  Households that qualify for Lifeline also qualify for the ACP Benefit.

Paul Bunyan Communications, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Itasca Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) are holding a sign-up day for the Affordable Connectivity Program on Monday, September 12 from 2-7 p.m. at the Inger Community Center.

This new long-term benefit will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service and provides a discount of up to a $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands.

A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:

• Has an income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
• Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
• Participates inone of several Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Head Start (only households meeting the relevant income qualifying standard) Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income program.

Eligible households can enroll at the sign-up event, through a participating broadband provider, or by going to ACP Benefit to submit an online application or print a mail-in application and contacting their preferred participating broadband provider and selecting a plan.  Additional information about the Affordable Connectivity Program Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.

Paul Bunyan Communications and the Red Lake Nation are holding a sign-up day for the Affordable Connectivity Program on Thursday, August 25 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Red Lake Nation College.

This new long-term benefit will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service and provides a discount of up to a $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands.

A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:

• Has an income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
• Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
• Participates inone of several Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Head Start (only households meeting the relevant income qualifying standard) Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income program.

Eligible households can enroll at the sign-up event, through a participating broadband provider, or by going to ACP Benefit to submit an online application or print a mail-in application and contacting their preferred participating broadband provider and selecting a plan.  Additional information about the Affordable Connectivity Program Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.

Paul Bunyan Communications has partnered with Fiber Homes, the nation’s first fiber internet search service that provides home buyers, renters and realtors with access to fiber internet availability information down to the address level.

Fiber Homes’ free portal through www.fiberhomes.com makes it easy to find homes that meet their internet needs and allows sellers to market their listings as “certified fiber homes,” which can increase the property’s value. “Internet access is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.  People should know if a home they are purchasing has reliable internet. We’re excited to deliver this critical information through Fiber Homes.  Through their easy to use, free portal at fiberhomes.com anyone can now find out instantly if a home or business is connected to our all-fiber optic gigabit network the GigaZone,” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.

Fiber Homes also offers free real estate agent services that deliver a competitive edge. If they are a listing agent, they get access to materials for marketing the home as a connected “fiber home,” and if they are a buyer’s agent, they get access to service and pricing information from the fiber optic Internet provider, as well as a new mover offer they can pass on to their clients.

Fiber Homes is also actively working with MLSs around the country to add this crucial information to the property listings.

Paul Bunyan Communications is returning over $6.3 million to its members in 2022!

For current members with a distribution amount of $100 or less, a credit has been applied to your July bill. Checks have been mailed out for distributions of more than $100.

Paul Bunyan Communications is a not for profit company that strives to provide the highest quality service at the most affordable rates.  As a cooperative, membership in Paul Bunyan Communications includes the opportunity to share in the financial success of the company. When profits are earned they are allocated to the members based on their proportional share of the allocable revenues.  These allocations may then be returned to the individual members through capital credit retirements.

“The state of our cooperative is very strong with over 28,000 active members throughout our 6,000 square mile service territory.  We have been very busy building one of the largest all-fiber optic rural Gigabit networks in the country, the GigaZone, which is revolutionizing the way members live, work, and play.  It is rewarding to see all those efforts continue to pay off and return these profits to our membership” said Gary Johnson, Paul Bunyan Communications CEO/General Manager.

“For over 70 years we have been providing the latest in technology at cost.  There is no membership fee to join Paul Bunyan Communications and there are no annual membership dues. All you need to do is subscribe to either one line of local phone or Broadband Internet service and you become a member. You get the latest in technology backed up by our talented team of over 150 local employees that all live and work here” added Dave Schultz, Paul Bunyan Communications Chief Financial Officer.

“In a highly competitive industry with national competitors our cooperative has been successful because we put our region and our members first.  We don’t have to worry about customers all over the place like in Sioux Falls, Fargo, Minneapolis, or anywhere else. Our investments go here, back into our network, our services, and our communities.” added Brian Bissonette, Paul Bunyan Communications Marketing Supervisor.

If you were a member of the cooperative in 2003 and/or 2021 and accrued more than $10 in total capital credit allocations, but do not receive the credit on your account or a check by July 22, please contact Paul Bunyan Communications at (218) 444-1234 or (218) 999-1234.

Paul Bunyan Communications and the Red Lake Nation are holding a sign-up day for the Affordable Connectivity Program on Tuesday, July 19 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Oshkiimaajitahdah Building, 15525 Mendota Avenue in Redby MN

This new long-term benefit will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service and provides a discount of up to a $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands.

A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:

• Has an income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
• Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
• Participates inone of several Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Head Start (only households meeting the relevant income qualifying standard) Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income program.

Eligible households can enroll at the sign-up event, through a participating broadband provider, or by going to ACP Benefit to submit an online application or print a mail-in application and contacting their preferred participating broadband provider and selecting a plan.  Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.

Paul Bunyan Communications and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe are holding a sign-up day for the Affordable Connectivity Program on Wednesday, June 15 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Facility Center – 16126 John Moose Dr NW, Cass Lake.

This new long-term benefit will help to lower the cost of broadband service for eligible households struggling to afford internet service and provides a discount of up to a $30 per month toward broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for qualifying households on qualifying Tribal lands.

A household is eligible if one member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:

• Has an income that is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines;
• Participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, Federal Public Housing Assistance, SSI, WIC, or Lifeline;
• Participates inone of several Tribal specific programs, such as Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribal Head Start (only households meeting the relevant income qualifying standard) Tribal TANF, or Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations;
• Is approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision;
• Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year; or
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating broadband provider’s existing low-income program.

Eligible households can enroll at the sign-up event, through a participating broadband provider, or by going to ACPBenefit.org to submit an online application or print a mail-in application and contacting their preferred participating broadband provider and selecting a plan.  Additional information about the Emergency Broadband Benefit is available at www.fcc.gov/ACP, or by calling 877-384-2575 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET any day of the week.