Rank: 84
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Redwood County: Moving up the ranking

Redwood County ranks 63 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 76.23 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1439 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $13.4 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Redwood County has gone from almost 40 percent coverage in 2021 to 80 percent coverage in 2022 and now that has slipped, which is likely a reflection of map challenges and corrections. Redwood County worked on better broadband with the help of a Lead Fellow; they have been asking residents to take a broadband survey.

In December 2022, Arvig received $1.3 million in Border to Border funding to reach 15 unserved and 1,855 underserved households, farms and businesses in the cities of Belview, Clements, Morgan, Seaforth, Vesta, Wabasso, Walnut Grove and Wanda throughout Redwood County and Hanson Communications got almost $1 million to serve 484 underserved locations and 45 unserved locations in and between the towns of Lamberton and Revere in Redwood County.

Redwood County’s work getting the community engaged with a survey will likely help them strive to get federal (BEAD) funding once it becomes available. That is how they retain their yellow ranking.

Grants:

• 2022: Hanson Communications, Inc., $923,918.00
• 2022: Redwood County Telephone Co. dba Arvig, $1,336,037.04 (Learn more)

• 2017 – MVTC (Minnesota Valley Telephone Company, Inc.) – Milroy Broadband Project – GRANT $742,365
• 2016 – ARVIG – REDWOOD COUNTY TELEPHONE MIDDLE MILE FIBER EXTENSION – GRANT: $27,998
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2019: MVTC (Minnesota Valley Telephone Company, Inc.) – Rural Lucan Fiber Project – GRANT $635,400

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Minnesota Valley Telephone Company (MVTC) – Rural Franklin Fiber Project – GRANT $226,800 This middle and last mile project will serve approximately 45 unserved locations in the City of Franklin and the townships of Sherman, Eden, Camp and Birch Cooley in Redwood, Renville and Brown counties.

Checklist:

• Redwood County has worked with the Blandin Foundation

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.