Rank: 24
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Hubbard County: code from going from yellow to red

Hubbard County ranks 24 for broadband access and 39 for digital equity out of 87 counties. They have hovered account 90 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2020. There is a decrease this year, but likely down to an increase in granularity of reporting and margin of error. They have 1460 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $13.6 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Hubbard County had a great leap in access in 2020. They have stayed stagnant since then. And I don’t hear much from them. And that’s why they have gone from code yellow to red. They need a second wind to get back into the game.

Broadband Access:

Digital Equity:

Hubbard County ranks 39 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)

Hubbard County ranks 47 out of 87 for computer ownership. 90.6 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.

Past grants:

• 2017 – Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Fiber – GRANT $802,620
• 2016 – PAUL BUNYAN COMMUNICATIONS HUBBARD, BECKER & ITASCA COUNTIES – GRANT: $1,742,232

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Hubbard County. (http://tinyurl.com/hy7et5e)
• 100/20 Mbps ranking: 24 (down 3 places)
• Has worked with Blandin: no
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
• Household density: 14.7

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)