In 2014, Grant County’s broadband coverage was 85 percent (broadband was defined at a slower speed); then have since dropped to 75 percent coverage for speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 40 percent coverage for speeds of 100/20.So they are in a position to continue slipping unless the community and/or local providers make a concerted effort to expand broadband and upgrade broadband.
Grant County is in line to receive $48,629 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 58 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 Grant County ranked:
- Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 75.73
- Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 39.93
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 Grant ranked:
DDI score of 39.85 out of 100.
More info:
- Find more articles on broadband in Grant County. (http://tinyurl.com/z9n7ea6)
- Districts: CD 7
Senate: 12
House: 12A
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!