Rank: 65
Code:  Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Chisago County: slow improvement needs a jump start

Chisago County’s rank dips from 60 to 65 for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Few counties have been as engaged as Chisago is with promoting better broadband as a 2021 report from the Institute for Local Self Reliance pointed out. Like several other counties, Chisago County has areas where there is one national provider (or another). Often national providers are not as engaged in rural areas as providers with roots in the community. Chisago has found creative ways to get around that in several towns in the county.

Chisago County is getting a yellow ranking because they growth seems to have slowed down.

• Over the years, Chisago County (or cities within) has invested $900,841 (total) for matches for 3 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Chisago County will benefit from a 2024 $801,700 MN Broadband grant award that will serve 237 locations between Chisago and Anoka Counties.
• Chisago County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $45.3 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Chisago ranked 16 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grant:

• County: Anoka, Chisago
  Midco
  Midco North Central
  Grant: $801,700
  Local Match: $801,700
  Total Budget: $1,603,400
  Midco will build fiber to the premises (FTTP) plant to 237 eligible passings in portions of Anoka and Chisago counties. This project will extend reliable broadband service to 146 unserved and 79 underserved homes, and 8 unserved and 2 underserved business, and 2 unserved farms. Chisago County will contribute $149,000 and the City of Wyoming will contribute $5,000 toward the project. Midco provides services to about 493,000 customers, many of which live in rural Minnesota.

Past grants:

• 2022: Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC, $465,814.00

• 2017 – CenturyLink – Fish Lake Township FTTH Project – GRANT $1,833,724
• 2016 – SUNRISE TOWNSHIP (CENTURYLINK) FIBER TO THE HOME – GRANT: $1,074,852
• CenturyLink (Qwest Corporation) – Nessel Township FTTH Project – GRANT $1,657,550

Find more article on Chisago (https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=chisago&submit=Search)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

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)