Rank: 1
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Red Lake County: Three years of ubiquitous broadband

Red Lake County ranks 1 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 100 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up.

Red Lake County can continue bask in the glory of their second year with ubiquitous broadband. They share top ranking with Lincoln and Rock Counties.

• Over the years, Ramsey County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Ramsey County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant.
• Ramsey County will not benefit from line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost 0 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, Ramsey ranked 13 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past grant:

• None

Find more articles on broadband in Red Lake County (http://tinyurl.com/gt8g24c)

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)