Rank: 2
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Lincoln County: From better to almost best
Lincoln County ranks 2 for broadband access and 65 for digital equity out of 87 counties. They went to 99+ percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up last summer and have improved since then. They have 0 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost nothing to ubiquitous broadband in the county. However, they rank 65 for digital equity so they could focus on use with any public funding.
| County | Housing Unit Density | Number of Housing Units | 100/20 Mbps | houses unserved | Cost to close the gap |
| Lincoln | 5.6 | 3,051 | 99.99 | 0 | $ 2,837.43 |
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. They worked on a grant application that did not get funded but the county decided to move ahead on their own.
Last fall, ITC announced a fiber-optic expansion to the City of Ivanhoe in Lincoln County. Along with ITC’s investment in the fiber-optic expansion, this project is funded by the City of Ivanhoe and Lincoln County. And they have been working on improving digital equity with help from the Blandin Foundation.
They continue to earn their green ranking.
Broadband Access:
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 99.99 | 99.03 | 40.42 | 39.21 | 39.21 | 40 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 99.99 | 99.33 | 60.91 | 59.7 | 53.44 | 54.27 |
Digital Equity:
Lincoln County ranks 65 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)
Lincoln County ranks 77 out of 87 for computer ownership. 87.3 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.
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: 2 (up 5)
- Has worked with Blandin: yes
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
- Household density: 5.6
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 