Rank: 79
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Carlton County: Improvement will be expense, but they are looking
Carlton County is one of several counties that is served primary with one national provider, who may not be as invested locally as a local provider or cooperative. They recognize the need for improvement; they need to find a way to make it happen.
Their access to broadband hasn’t changed substantially since we have been tracking. County Commissioners have recognized the importance of better broadband. Local media has also written about the need for better broadband, especially since the pandemic. Projected allocation of American Recovery Project ARP funds in Carlton is $6,956,960; broadband is one possible use.
Unfortunately, local recognition of need is not enough to make a difference when a community is served by a provider that is not engaged. Perhaps, the advent of federal funding (ARP and Capital Project Funds) might spur interest in providers that haven’t been interested or spur a community to look at solutions outside of their community. But that is a hard lift and therefore they maintain their red code.
They may benefit from intervention, such as the Blandin Accelerate program, a process to spur community acquisition and deployment of federal and state broadband funds, to find an alternative solution.
Broadband Access:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 52.08 | 52.02 | 47.57 | 58.22 | 52.32 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 72.79 | 75.17 | 71.71 | 67.29 | 62.74 |
| County | Households with computer | …with desktop or laptop | …with ONLY smartphone | …with a tablet et al |
| State of MN | 93.6% | 80.6% | 7.7% | 63.8% |
| Carlson | 87.4 | 72.8 | 7.5 | 55.3 |
Past grants:
- 2017 – Carlton County w/ Frontier – Phase I: Cromwell/Kettle River – GRANT: $569,058
- Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – Big Lake Road Project – GRANT $602,916
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Carlton County. (http://tinyurl.com/z4me5k4)
- 100/20 Mbps ranking: 79 (down 3)
- Has worked with Blandin: yes
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
- Household density: 15.93
Details:
- Districts: CD 8
Senate: 11
House: 11A - 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)
