In 2014, 92 percent of Sherburne County had access to broadband. (Broadband was defined with lower speeds back then.) Today 75 percent of the county has access to broadband speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 28 percent has access to the 2026 speed goals of 100/20.

Sherburne County is going the wrong direction; they have gone from well served to underserved as the definition of broadband changes. (The good news is they realize the problem.) Sherburne County is a Blandin Broadband Community, which means they are focused on improving broadband adoption and expansion. They are a team that is especially interested in expansion and upgrades…

They have a feasibility study and started an effort called Sherband to drive the effort for better broadband. They created a video on their need for better broadband. They have hosted conversations with politicians.

In 2015, they (via Palmer Wireless) received a Border to Border broadband grant…

Palmer Wireless, Becker Industrial Park. Awarded $151,934 to deploy 3.4 miles of fiber passing 21 underserved businesses in the Becker Industrial Park (city of Becker) as well as to 12 vacant city-owned lots covering 70 acres. In addition, one of the vacant lots is the future site of the Northstar station. The total project costs are $303,870; the remaining $151,936 (50 percent local match) will be provided by Palmer Wireless via a line of credit.

And they received another grant in 2017…

Palmer Wireless, Big Lake Industrial Park – $90,988. The project will serve 17 underserved businesses and 1 underserved community anchor institution in the Big Lake Industrial Park. Palmer Wireless will improve services that will have a positive impact on the economic health of Big Lake and businesses in the park. The total eligible project cost is $211,600, with a $120,612 local match. [Sherburne County]

Sherburne County is in line to receive $525,436 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 2159 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: 75.40
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 28.02

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 17.03 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Sherburne County (http://tinyurl.com/zrgvpld)
• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
• Districts: CD 6
  Senate: 14, 15, 30, 31
  House: 14B, 15A, 15B, 30A, 31A

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!