Rank: 71
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
Wabasha County: still stalled at 71 percent access
Wabasha County ranks 71 for broadband access out of 87 counties with 71.92 percent coverage of broadband at speeds of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1735 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $16.1 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 |
| Wabasha | 17.5 | 9,594 | 71.92 | 1735 | 16135500 |
Wabasha County was stagnant at 66 percent coverage for several years; now they seem to be hovering around 72 degrees. Hiawatha Broadband has applied in to the latest (still open) round of Border to Border funding; results should be available in early 2024.
Wabasha County residents were awarded 97 line extension funding requests, which means state funding will subsidize last mile broadband extension to their homes.
With limited progress, Wabasha retains their red ranking.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 71.92 | 71.24 | 66.67 | 66.31 | 66.31 | 66.17 | 61.7 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 75.96 | 74.01 | 78.33 | 77.96 | 77.61 | 74.35 | 83.59 |
Grants:
- 2012: $1 million in their ARPA funding on broadband
- 2016 – NEW ULM TELECOM, INC. MAZEPPA – GRANT: $ 317,761
- MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Goodhue West FTTP – GRANT $532,232 This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and two underserved locations in Goodhue, Zumbrota, Minneola, and Belle Creek townships in Goodhue County and Chester Township in Wabasha County.
Find more articles on broadband in Wabasha County (http://tinyurl.com/gpllcg8)
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.
