Houston County is not poised to meet the state broadband speed goals for either 2022 or 2026. They are in better shape for 2026 however, than 2022. The good news is that means there is a provider in the area that is able/willing to provide better broadband; it’s just a matter of finding a way to extend the better broadband or persuade other providers to match that speed.
| Percentage of Served Population by Speed and Date | |||
| Houston | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 67.81 | 66.63 | 65.08 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 72.94 | 71.29 | 72.23 |
Houston County has shown an interest in better broadband. In 2017, a project that sought state funding, but they didn’t get it. Last year, the Houston County News ran an letter supporting Walz for Governor, specifically mentioning his support of rural broadband. More recently, Houston County Commissioners approved a $75,000 revolving loan to support a Border to Border grant application with Acentek.
Houston County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, AcenTek applied to upgrade service in Houston. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)
Checklist:
- 100/20 ranking: 57 (down from 37)
- 25/3 ranking: 71
- Has worked with Blandin: no
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
- Household density: 13.8
- Number of providers: 7
Details:
- Find more articles on broadband in Houston County. (http://tinyurl.com/zst4kf5)
- Districts: CD 1
Senate: 28
House: 28B - Find your reps
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. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:
- Red (yikes)
- Yellow (warning)
- Green (good shape)