Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved
Rank (from 100/20 megabits per second): 40
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.
Mower County: needs help but has potential partners
Mower County applied for funding last year and didn’t get it but in the process, they have found a partner in Midcontinent. It seems likely that they might try again. Mower County has a few providers in the area that are engaged, or claim to be engaged, so they are better off than counties with large national providers that seem less interested in investing in rural expansion.
Broadband Access:
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 79.03 | 78.56 | 23.31 | 90.2 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 81.14 | 85.22 | 78.47 | 94.78 |
| 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% |
| Mower | 85.5% | 72.2% | 67.0% | 53.5% | 6.3% |
What we learned in the past:
In 2017, Mediacom announced that part of Mower County (Adams, Brownsdale, Le Roy, Lyle, Waltham) are part of its Gigabit upgrade. That may explain some growth. In August 2019, Mid Continent asked Mower County to support their application for a Minnesota Broadband grant to extend/expand broadband in the area. Mower agreed to support it; but it was not funded.
Update from 2020:
Part of Mower 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 Mower County (http://tinyurl.com/j9sr5gf)
- 100/20 Mbps ranking: 40 (down 4)
- Has worked with Blandin: no
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
- Household density: 22.2
Details:
- Districts: CD 1
Senate: 27
House: 27A, 27B - 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)
