Rank: 45
Code:  Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Pipestone County: stagnant at 80 percent

Pipestone County ranks 45 (down 10 places) for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Pipestone has hovered at 80 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2018. They have seen a small increase this year. Pipestone County has working with Hometown Fiber on better broadband plan.

They are also concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access and wireline with fixed wireless. Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

Pipestone seems to be building momentum, at a good time with federal (BEAD) funding coming in. But they retain 86.43 their yellow ranking.

• Over the years, Pipestone County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants. But Pipestone County Commissioners recently (Nov 2024) voted to provide $268,822 for a fiber optic internet project Woodstock Communications is planning if they get a MN State grant.
• Pipestone County will benefit from a 2024 $1.6 million MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 116 locations.
• Pipestone County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $4.5 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, Pipestone ranked 55 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

2024 Grants:

• County: Pipestone
  Woodstock Telephone Co
  Woodstock Comm – Hatfield FTTH
  Grant: $1,612,932
  Local Match: $537,644
  Total Budget: $2,150,576
  Woodstock will build a fiber network to the Town of Hatfield, which is located in Pipestone County, MN. There are 116 total passings, consisting of 32 unserved households, 3 unserved businesses, and 47 unserved farms. This project comes in partnership with Pipestone County, splitting the remaining 25% match percentage 50/50 between the two parties. Additionally, the project will also service 24 underserved households predominately in the Town of Hatfield, 2 underserved businesses and 8 underserved farms. Woodstock has managed fiber networks for nearly 29 years and has been in business for more than 70 years. Pipestone County is also supporting the project by providing a matching grant of $268,822.

Past grants:

• 2017 – Woodstock Telephone Company – Pipestone County Wireless – GRANT $363,851
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080

Find more articles on broadband in Pipestone County (http://tinyurl.com/zhjm4pe)

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)