I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year.
Douglas County has gone from ranking 80 to 76. They are behind but they are going in the right direction. And the 100/20 access is improving at a faster rate than access to 25/3 so they are planning for the future.
Late in 2017, to grants in the area received funding…
The first one is for a “fiber-to-the-home” project in the Country Estates development north of Lake Louise in northwest Alexandria and totals $101,624. The project will serve 32 unserved households and 10 unserved businesses.
The cost of the project that’s eligible for state funds is $225,830, with a $124,206 local match.
The second project, which received a $54,155 grant, will will take place in the Pospisil Drive development near Alexandria. It will serve 18 unserved households and six unserved businesses. The project will continue a build-out of broadband services that started last year.
The total eligible cost is $120,345, with a $66,190 local match.
In a funding partnership with the state, Gardonville will improve broadband service levels in both areas to 1 billion bits per second, or Gbps, for downloading and uploading, exceeding the state’s 2026 speed goal.
Rep. Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck, issued a statement about the grants. He noted that areas in his district will benefit, including Albany ($616,743 in grants), Minnewaska Area ($4,996,791) and the Pospisil Drive development ($54,155).
“It is good to see local groups were successful in earning some of the grant money the Legislature provided to expand internet access in Greater Minnesota,” Anderson said in an e-mail. “I look forward to seeing these projects bring up to speed households and businesses that have been unable to enjoy reliable online service.”
Info on Access:
| Speeds | % served 2017 | % served 2018 |
| 25/3 | 75.10 | 82.96 |
| 100/20 | 7.68 | 25.56 |
The speeds reflect the Minnesota speed goals:
- 25 Mbps down and 3 up by 2022
- 100 Mbps down and 20 up by 2026
Current ranking for 100/20 access: 76
- Find more articles on broadband in Douglas County. (http://tinyurl.com/jqpohsc)
- Districts: CD 7
Senate: 8, 12
House: 8B, 12A, 12B