Rank: 28
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Freeborn County: A matter of funding momentum
Freeborn County ranks 28 (up one place) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have hov89.1 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1361 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $12.6 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
| County | Residential Location Density | number of residential locations | ≥ 100 Mbps Download/20 Mbps Upload Speeds | unserved households | Cost to close gap |
| Freeborn | 17.3 | 12,485 | 89.1 | 1361 | 12657300 |
They had hovered around 85 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019; they have seen a little bump up to 89 percent this year. They also have the unfortunate distinction from Recon Analytics to be named the unhappiest broadband county in the US.
They retain their yellow ranking with minimal increase in broadband, although they are bumping up against the 90 percent benchmark.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 89.1 | 86.36 | 85.89 | 84.51 | 83.88 | 34.18 | 94.59 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 89.96 | 86.98 | 88 | 87.94 | 87.92 | 84.31 | 99.44 |
Grants:
- 2022: ReConnect program, will help connect over 6,000 people, 150 businesses, and 680 farms across Freeborn, Morrison, Stearns, Houston, and Todd counties.
- 2017 – BEVCOMM (Cannon Valley Telephone) – Freeborn Southwest Rural Final – GRANT $122,460
- 2016 – CANNON VALLEY TELECOM, INC. (DBA BEVCOMM) RURAL FREEBORN – GRANT: $150,700
- 2015 – BEVCOMM Cannon Valley Telecom – Rural Freeborn Fiber-to-the-Premises Project – Grant award: $149,625
- Freeborn is also getting almost $2 million in FCC funding but that is over the next 10 years.
- Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association – SE Faribault/W Freeborn County FTTP – GRANT $953,842 This last-mile fiber optic project will bring service to 319 unserved locations, including 289 homes, 16 businesses, 11 farms, and three community anchor institutions in the townships of Clark, Foster, Kiester, Seely, Alden, Carlston, Manchester, Mansfield, and Pickerel Lake located in Southeastern Faribault and Western Freeborn counties.
Find more articles on broadband in Freeborn County. (http://tinyurl.com/hw7ptnz)
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.
