Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved
Rank (from 100/20 megabits per second): 20
Code: Yellow
Annually, Blandin Foundation pulls together data from the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development and broadband news to gauge progress toward the state broadband goals (25 megabits per second download/3 Mbps upload by 2022 and 100 Mbps/20 Mbps by 2026). Leaders can use this information to improve broadband access and use in their communities. To see how the state is doing overall, or to compare counties, visit the Blandin Foundation interactive map. Or check out past years’ reports: 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Carver County: Needs a push to get ubiquitous broadband
Carver County is stalled with 85-90 percent of the county having access to 100/20 Mbps broadband. They received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant in 2013, which put them on a good path for connectivity but very little has happened since then. They are part of the 7-county metro area. Their cities and towns are well served but areas with lower population density are not.
Broadband Access:
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 89.37 | 86.51 | 85.09 | 81.04 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 93.73 | 92.14 | 89.81 | 98.51 |
| County | Households with computer | …with desktop or laptop | …with a smartphone | …with a tablet et al | …with other |
| State of MN | 90.3% | 81.1% | 76.5% | 59.3% | 3.5% |
| Carver | 94.1% | 89.6% | 83.1% | 67.5% | 4.8% |
What we learned in the past:
In 2013, Carver County received ARRA funding for Carverlink, a publicly owned 89-mile base ring with 33 miles of lateral lines. It was completed in Fall of 2013.
Carverlink has left them in good shape, but not enough has happened since then.
Update from 2020:
Part of Carver County was served by Jaguar, which was acquired by MetroNet in July (2020). MetroNet claims they will invest $150 million to grow their Minnesota market.
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Carver County. (http://tinyurl.com/jxj9v9x)
- 100/20 Mbps ranking: 20 (up 3places)
- Has worked with Blandin: no
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
- Household density: 87.4
Details:
- Districts: CD 3 & 6
Senate: 33 & 47
House: 33B, 47A, 47B - 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)
Blandin on Broadband 