Rank (from 100/20 megabits per second): 30
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.
Red Lake has been a top-ranking county for access to 25/3 since we have been tracking county ranking. In 2017, they saw an upgrade that lifted much of their access from 25/3 to 100/20 but nothing has happened since.
Broadband Access:
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 83.18 | 83.17 | 83.17 | 48.01 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 99.86 | 99.99 | 99.99 | 99.99 |
| 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% |
| Red Lake | 74.8% | 72.4% | 62.6% | 53% | 3% |
What we learned in the past:
For all practical purposes, Red Lake County has reached the state’s broadband speed goals for 2022. But they need to work toward the 2026 goal. They have not had to think about broadband for many years, but their current speed of broadband is not futureproof.
Update from 2020:
Red Lake has two providers that offer service ar 100/20: Garden Valley Telephone and Sjoberg Inc. Midcontinent and Hughes Net (satellite) provide services at 25/3. To reach 2026 speed goals, Red Lake would need to work with Garden Valley and/or Sjoberg to extend their faster services and/or work with the other providers to improve their service. Satellite won’t get to 100/20 but Midcontinent services would. They haven’t received a OBD grant in the past, so they might be likely candidate if they tried. But with nearly ubiquitous access to 25/3, they may not have felt the punch, that may have changed due to COVID and increased need for broadband speeds at home.
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Red Lake County (http://tinyurl.com/gt8g24c)
- 100/20 ranking: 30 (down from 26)
- 25/3 ranking: 1
- Has worked with Blandin: no
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
- Household density: 4
- Number of providers: 4
Details:
- Districts: CD 7
Senate: 01
House: 01B - 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)
