Rank: 32
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Itasca County: recent grant will help improve access

Itasca County ranks 31 (Down one place) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have had incremental but steady growth in the last two years. In February 2024, Paul Bunyan announced the expansion of  FTTH to 1,500 locations in Itasca, St. Louis, and Aitkin Counties. That should help close some gaps but not to the point of earning a green versus yellow ranking.

• Over the years, Itasca County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Itasca County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant.
• Itasca County will benefit from 12 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $26 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, Itasca ranked 48 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• Itasca County is home to the Blandin Foundation and the community is engaged in broadband development; in early 2022, they looked at the local digital divide before and after/during COVID
• In 2023, Paul Bunyan Telephone was awarded $10 million in ReConnect funds for networks in Hubbard, Itasca, and St. Louis counties.

Past Grants:

• 2023: Paul Bunyan Telephone awarded $10 million in ReConnect funds for networks in Hubbard, Itasca, and St. Louis counties
• 2017 – Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Fiber – GRANT $802,620
• 2016 MEDIACOM HARRIS TOWNSHIP – GRANT: $224,369
• 2016 – PAUL BUNYAN COMMUNICATIONS HUBBARD, BECKER & ITASCA COUNTIES – GRANT: $1,742,232
• 2015 – Paul Bunyan Central Itasca County Fiber – Grant Award: $1,980,000
• Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916

Find more articles on broadband in Itasca County. (http://tinyurl.com/grujo6t)

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)