Rank: 15
Code:  Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Dakota County: Has plan, will succeed

Dakota County ranks 15 (down one) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 97.17 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 3639 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $33.8 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Dakota County has a broadband board and staff who focus on creating better broadband. The Institute for Local Self Reliance reported on Dakota County’s successful policies conducive to collaboration and reinvestment, with the result being a host of benefits which includes significant public savings for internal operations and better connections for community anchor institutions.

They have hovered around 97 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019. There were two small grants awarded in December 2022 to help them reach their goal: Spectrum got $98,750 and JTN Communications got $113,076.

Dakota County residents were awarded 67 line extension funding requests, which means state funding will subsidize last mile broadband extension to their homes.

Dakota County retains their green ranking because they are close to goal and there are continued strides toward the goal – such as the recent announcement of free Wifi in the city parks.

Grants funding:

• 2022: JTN Communications, $113,076.00
• 2022: Spectrum Mid-America, LLC managed by Charter Communications Inc., $98,750.00

• 2020: Charter Communications – Rosemount North Project – GRANT $499,072
• 2020: Dakota County approved $800,000 in CARES Act funding for broadband.
• Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Webster Rural FTTP – GRANT $431,260 This last mile project will serve 103 unserved and 178 underserved locations in Wheatland and Webster townships in Rice County, Eureka and Greenvale townships in Dakota County, and New Market and Cedar Lake townships in Scott County.

Find more articles on broadband in Dakota County. (http://tinyurl.com/hxslue9)

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)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.