Rank: 22
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Hubbard County: code from going from yellow to red to yellow in two years

Hubbard County ranks 22 (down one place) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 93.63 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 887 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $8.2 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

After a leap in access in 2020, Hubbard stayed stagnant for a while but it looks like they might be edging closer to goal. In February 2023, Paul Bunyan Telephone was awarded $10 million in ReConnect funds for networks in Hubbard, Itasca, and St. Louis counties.

Hubbard County residents were awarded 28 line extension funding requests, which means state funding will subsidize last mile broadband extension to their homes.

The progress along with ReConnect grant bump Hubbard County back to yellow ranking.

Grants:

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

Find more articles on broadband in Hubbard County. (http://tinyurl.com/hy7et5e)

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.