Rank: 74
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Sibley County: stuck at 65 percent coverage
Sibley County ranks 74 for broadband access and 52 for digital equity out of 87 counties. They have hovered from 62-65 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2018. They have 2218 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $20.6 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
| County | Housing Unit Density | Number of Housing Units | 100/20 Mbps | houses unserved | Cost to close the gap |
| Sibley | 10.7 | 6,454 | 65.63 | 2218 | $ 20,629,630.14 |
Sibley County has been working on better broadband for more than 10 years. They have been a Blandin Broadband Community. But their connectivity has been stagnant since 2018. There hasn’t been a demonstration of recent engagement with broadband, which is why their code has gone from yellow to red.
Broadband Access:
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 65.63 | 65.29 | 62.86 | 62.87 | 62.84 | 51.01 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 69.76 | 70.05 | 74.29 | 73.59 | 63.47 | 71.27 |
Digital Equity:
Sibley County ranks 53 out of 87 for digital equity. (See full Digital Equity Profile)
Sibley County ranks 60 out of 87 for computer ownership. 89.2 percent of homes have a computer of device as compared to statewide ownership of 95.5 percent.
Past grants
- 2017 – Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Cornish Township FTTP Project – GRANT $365,895
- 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
- 2014 – R-S Fiber Cooperative, FTTH Project – Award: $1 million.
- MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Bismarck & Transit Township FTTP Project – GRANT $716,000 This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and six underserved locations, including homes, businesses and farms, in Bismarck, Transit and Round Grove townships in Sibley and McLeod counties
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Sibley County (https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=sibley&submit=Search)
- 100/20 Mbps ranking: 74 (down 4)
- Has worked with Blandin: yes
- Has received a MN Broadband grant: yes
- Household density: 10.7
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 