Rank: 38
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Nobles County: ReConnect funding will help reach goals
Nobles County ranks 38 (up six points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 85.35 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1010 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $9.4 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
| County | Residential Location Density | number of residential locations | ≥ 100 Mbps Download/20 Mbps Upload etainsSpeeds | unserved households | Cost to close gap |
| Nobles | 9.5 | 6,893 | 85.35 | 1010 | 9393000 |
Nobles County has seen a nice jump in broadband coverage this year after a long time of stagnation. And they can expect more.
In 2023, Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company received a USDA ReConnect grant of $13.68 million, paired with a loan of $5.72 million, which could provide high-speed broadband to 3,839 people, 127 businesses, 679 farms. That will help them get much closer to their broadband goal.
Nobles County retains yellow ranking but a much more optimistic yellow ranking than previous years.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 85.35 | 80.27 | 81.24 | 81.24 | 77.66 | 77.18 | 59.25 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 87.76 | 83.1 | 83.71 | 83.54 | 80.89 | 79.24 | 75.69 |
Grants
- 2023: Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company ReConnect grant: $13,688,114 and loan: $5,723,996
- 2016 LISMORE COOPERATIVE TELEPHONE NOBLES COUNTY BROADBAND – GRANT: $2,944,578
- 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
Checklist:
- Find more articles on broadband in Nobles County (http://tinyurl.com/j52xvxu)
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.
