Rank: 7
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Lincoln County: Most improved award goes to…
Lincoln County has been active in trying to get better broadband for years; there was a renewed interest going back to 2016. With help from the Blandin Foundation, Lincoln released a feasibility study in 2018, which indicated Fiber to the Premise would cost $8.5 million in eastern Lincoln County. The community was able to go to the provider (ITC) with the budget and (maybe more importantly) maps. The plan included an overbuild of some Frontier areas but did not include Tyler and Ivanhoe. ITC said they were able to $2.5 million and looked at CAF reverse auction. That left the community with $6 million to meet the need. They applied for a Minnesota state grant; they found a way to include Tyler and Ivanhoe, which brought the project to $10 million. Unfortunately, they did not get the funding.
The county decided to move ahead on their own. They are trying to bond for $5 million. The area is fortunate that they have seen expansion in wind industry, which has led to production tax, which could be used for a special project such as broadband.
Lincoln went from code red to code green in one year!
Broadband Access:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 99.03 | 40.42 | 39.21 | 39.21 | 40 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 99.33 | 60.91 | 59.7 | 53.44 | 54.27 |
| 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% |
| Lincoln | 81.3 | 71.3 | 5.2 | 52.1 |
Past grants:
- 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
- 2014 – Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative (ITC), Hendricks Town FTTP – Award: $700,000.
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Lincoln County (http://tinyurl.com/jxqwlab)
- 100/20 Mbps ranking: 7 (up 76)
- Has worked with Blandin: yes
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
- Household density: 4.10
Details:
- Districts: CD 7
Senate: 22
House: 22A - 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 