When I looked at Clay County in 2014, they had about 82 percent broadband coverage (although broadband was defined at slower speeds); now they have 83 percent coverage with speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 74 percent at speeds of 100/20. In 2010, Clay County made the list of the 9 unserved counties in Minnesota based on the FCC Annual Broadband Report. (Again broadband was defined as lower speeds.)

So Clay County has made strides but to reach ubiquitous coverage they need to gear up for another push.

Clay County is in line to receive $440,804 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 663 locations. Unfortunately CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how Clay County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 83.15
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 74.13

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how Clay ranked:

DDI score of 23.6 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Clay County. (http://tinyurl.com/hcgg9rm)

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 04
  House: 04A, 04B

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!