In 2014, 43 percent of Murray County had access to broadband. (Broadband was defined with lower speeds in 2014.) Currently 50 percent of the county has access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 41 percent has access at speeds of 100/20, which is the state speed goal for 2026.
In November 2016, Lincoln, Murray and Pipestone Counties held meetings to talk about broadband. Each county had 15 or more volunteers ready to team with county staff and elected officials on prospective solutions, including investing their own dollars to make expanded broadband possible. In 2017, Murray is partnering with six counties (Lincoln, Murray, Pipestone, Lyon, Yellow Medicine and Chippewa) to do a regional broadband study to determine the feasibility of bringing broadband service to unserved rural areas in the six counties.
So while 50 percent access isn’t heartening, the enthusiasm is!
Murray County is also in line to receive $1,330,429 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 1847 locations. 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 they ranked:
- Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 50.47
- Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 41.56
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 they ranked:
DDI score of 53.15 out of 100.
More info:
- Find more articles on broadband in Murray County (http://tinyurl.com/j9sr5gf)
- There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
- Districts: CD 7
Senate: 22
House: 22A
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!