Rank: 68
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

St Louis County: Gearing up for a big push?

St Louis County ranks 68 (down 11 points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 73.14 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 23734 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $227 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

They have hovered from 75-79 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. There was a slight dip in access last year but may simply reflect a more granular look at access.

In December 2022, several Border to Border grants were awarded that would/will benefit St, Louis County

• Mediacom received $7.4 million to serve 863 unserved households, 796 underserved households, 7 underserved businesses, 10 unserved businesses, 1 unserved community anchor and 1 underserved community anchor in the unincorporated community of Esko, primarily in the Saint Louis County
• Mediacom received $821,758 to serve 306 unserved households, 62 underserved households, 3 unserved community anchors, and 4 unserved businesses in the Biwabik Township of the St. Louis County
• Mediacom received $4.4 million to serve 863 unserved households, 796 underserved households, 7 underserved businesses, 10 unserved businesses, 1 unserved community anchor and 1 underserved community anchor in the unincorporated community of Esko, primarily in the Saint Louis County area
• Mediacom received $2.1 million to serve 444 unserved households, 7 unserved businesses, 1 unserved community anchor, 116 underserved households and 5 underserved businesses in the city of Hibbing of the Saint Louis County
• Paul Bunyan received $3 million to implement the Northern Minnesota GigaZone Fiber Project to bring high-speed broadband to at least 1,035 homes, businesses, farms, and community anchor institutions in rural portions of Aitkin, Itasca, and St. Louis counties.

In 2023, Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone received $5,569,281 to implement the St. Louis County GigaZone Fiber Expansion Project to bring high-speed, last-mile fiber-to-the-premises to at least 646 homes, businesses, farms, and community anchor institutions in two non-contiguous areas in rural St. Louis County.  Several providers (SCI, CTC, Mediacom and Treehouse) have applications in to the latest (still open) round of Border to Border funding; results should be available in early 2024.

St Louis County has been stuck but the volume of successful and hopeful grants in the area heps them hold their yellow ranking.

Grants:

• 2023: Paul Bunyan Rural Telephone Coop – Paul Bunyan Communications Rural GigaZone Fiber – GRANT $5,569,281
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC, $7,363,624.53
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Esko – GRANT $4,400,732
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Project 19 – Hibbing – GRANT $2,141,135
• 2022: Paul Bunyan Communications – Northern Minnesota GigaZone Fiber – GRANT $3,052,120
• 2022: Savage Communications Inc., $562,098.00
• 2022: Consolidated Telephone Company, $4,857,030.00 (serving St Louis and Cass)
• 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Esquagama Lake – GRANT $821,758

• 2017 – CenturyLink – Fredenberg Township FTTH Project – GRANT $1,809,312
  2017 – Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Fiber – GRANT $802,620
• 2017 – MEDIACOM FAYAL TOWNSHIP – GRANT: $263,345
• 2014 – Mediacom, Pintar Road – Award: $137,848. Total project cost: $275,697.
• 2014 – Northeast Service Cooperative – Frontier Communications Corp., Border to Border Phase I – Award: $1.96 million.
• 2019: Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Charter Communications (Spectrum) – Getchell Road – GRANT $11,400 This middle and last mile project will provide broadband service to eight unserved households in northern Duluth in St. Louis County.

• Mediacom Minnesota LLC – Field of Dreams Hermantown Project – GRANT $624,751 This last mile project will serve approximately 267 underserved households, six underserved businesses, and one underserved community anchor institution in Hermantown in St. Louis County.
• Paul Bunyan Communications – City of Cook GigaZone Fiber – GRANT $311,254 This last mile project will improve high-speed broadband for 57 unserved and 254 underserved locations in the community of Cook in St. Louis County.

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in St Louis County (http://tinyurl.com/jnm9jah)

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.