Rank: 8
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Beltrami County well served thanks to Paul Bunyan
Beltrami County ranks 8 for broadband access and 42 for digital equity out of 87 counties. The have hovered around 99 percent access to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019. There is a slight dip in access this year but it is within a margin of error and may simply reflect a more granular look at access.
They have 242 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $2.2 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county.
| County | Housing Unit Density | Number of Housing Units | 100/20 Mbps | houses unserved | Cost to close the gap |
| Beltrami | 7.0 | 21,271 | 98.86 | 242 | $2,255,151.42 |
Beltrami County will benefit from a border to border grant through Wikstrom Telephone
- Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc, $665,699.00 (will also benefit Kittson, Lake of the Woods and Marshall)
Beltrami is the home county to Paul Bunyan Telephone, a cooperative that is focused on Gigabit service to their customers/stakeholders. They are lucky, having an engaged provider is the easiest way a community can improve broadband access.
Beltrami has a green ranking because they are so close to ubiquitous broadband and have engaged providers. The charts below indicate that Beltrami ranks much higher for access than digital equity. Future efforts might pivot to digital use as well as access.
Broadband Access:
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 98.86 | 99.25 | 99.25 | 98.79 | 96.3 | 96.35 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 98.92 | 99.49 | 99.49 | 99.41 | 99.4 | 99.36 |
Digital Equity:
Beltrami County ranks 40 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)
Beltrami County ranks 42 out of 87 for computer ownership. 91 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.
Past Grants:
- 2020: Paul Bunyan received a MN Border to Border grant to bring fiber to the Leach Lake Indian Reservation and the southeast Beltrami.
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Beltrami County. (http://tinyurl.com/z5yvec6)
- 100/20 Mbps ranking: 8 (down 2)
- Has worked with Blandin: no
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
- Household density: 7
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 