Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Rank (from 100/20 megabits per second): 80
Code: Red

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.

Isanti County: stalled with less than 50 percent access to 100/20 Mbps

Isanti County is served by one large national provider. That may be a bottleneck to better access in those areas, because as we noted last year, lack of competition can impact the drive for improvement. We haven’t heard much from Isanti in the last year. To see improvement, they will likely need to come together as a community to seek better broadband.

Broadband Access:

Computer Access:

What we learned in the past:

Last year we saw that much of the County is served by one large national provider. That may be a bottleneck to better access in those areas, because as we noted last year, lack of competition can impact the drive for improvement.

In 2018, Isanti County, with Blandin Foundation support, surveyed residents about their experience with broadband…

• Eighty-eight percent of residents say they need better Internet-data service, 92 percent said Internet access is very important and 1 percent said it is not important.
• Eighty-three percent of businesses say they need better Internet-data service and 95 percent said the Internet is essential to their business.
• Sixty-six percent of businesses said limited Internet access at employees’ residences impacts their business.
• Twenty-four percent of businesses said Internet service options impact their business’ decision to relocate or stay in the county.

Clearly the community feels the need for better broadband.

Update from 2020:

No broadband reports from Isanti County since the last broadband profile.

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Isanti County. (http://tinyurl.com/gozt2ka)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 80 (down from 72)
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 30.9

Details:

• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 31 & 32
  House: 31A, 32A
• 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)