Monthly Archives: December 2024

Clearwater County Broadband Profile 2024: Green Rating: Ranking out 14 of 87

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Rank: 14
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Clearwater 99.25 11 98.33 14 98.19 5

Clearwater County: nearly there and getting closer

Clearwater County ranks 14 (down from 13) for broadband access out of 87 counties. The can just about touch ubiquitous coverage and have new grant funding coming in. They rank fifth in Gig access. They retain their green ranking because they are so close to the goal.

  • Over the years, Clearwater County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
  • Clearwater County will benefit from a 2024 $4,6 million MN Broadband grant award that will serve 487 locations between Clearwater and Mahnomen Counties.
  • Clearwater County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $558,000 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, Clearwater ranked 75 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 98.33 98.28 98.85 99.59 89.32 89.3 89.3 73.41
25/3 (2022 goal) 99.25 99.26 99.29 99.76 99.74 99.74 99.58 99.58

2024 Grants:

  • County: Clearwater, Mahnomen
    Garden Valley Telephone Company 2024 Rural Mahnomen County
    Grant: $4,626,012
    Local Match: $1,542,008
    Total Budget: $6,168,020
    This Low Density Garden Valley Telephone Company in Mahnomen County project is a combination middle mile and last mile Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) which will serve locations within the borders of the White Earth Reservation in Mahnomen County. This project recognizes broadband has become essential to economic prosperity in the rural communities and would allow employees to work from home, provide children with access to homework and essential internet related research and improve access to telemedicine at 287 locations, of which 181 are unserved and 106 underserved. Partner funding total of $250, from local community members.

Past Grants/Funding:

Find more articles on broadband in Clearwater County. (http://tinyurl.com/homdjrt)

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)

Clay County Broadband Profile 2024: Green Rating: Ranking out 41 of 87

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Rank: 41
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Clay 93.23 34 87.89 41 16.98 82

Clay County: consistent, incremental improvements over years

Clay County’s rank dropped from 25 to 41. Clay County will benefit from a recent $5.1 million ReConnect award to reach about 500 locations. That will get them much closer to ubiquitous coverage.

Clay County gets a green ranking because they have 90 percent coverage and were awarded the $5 million ReConnect award.

  • Over the years, Clay County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
  • Clay County will benefit from a 2024 $970,411 MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 54 locations.
  • Clay County will benefit from 21 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $2.6 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, Clay ranked 27 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • Clay County will benefit from a ReConnect award: Red River Rural Telephone Association – The investment will be used to deploy high-speed fiber optics to 17 businesses, 55 farms, and one school in Clay County, and 482 people will benefit. They received $5,166,742 as a grant.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 87.89 90.71 92.06 89.08 87.57 82.32 82.52 74.13
25/3 (2022 goal) 93.23 96.75 95.56 95.66 90.31 95.82 95.45 83.15

2024 Grants

  • County: Clay
    Red River Communications
    Red River – Rural Hawley
    Grant: $970,411
    Local Match: $970,411
    Total Budget: $1,940,822
    Red River Rural Telephone Association (Red River Communications), seeks to build a fiber-to the-premise (FTTP) broadband project in Rural Hawley, located within Clay County, Minnesota. The proposed FTTP project would provide 54 currently unserved locations with access to 2.5 Gbps symmetrical broadband with a capacity of 10 Gbps per location. The rural farm centered community is located 27 miles east of the county seat of Moorhead, MN. Red River Rural Telephone Association is a progressive telecommunications Cooperative maintaining 2,400 miles of fiber with 4,700 customers. Clay County is committing $5,000 toward project costs.

Past Grants

  • 2022: 702 Communications – Western Clay County Kragnes Township– GRANT $2,624,830
  • 2019: Arvig (Loretel Systems, Inc.) – Cormorant Lakes Area Project – GRANT $430,780

Find more articles on broadband in Clay County. (http://tinyurl.com/hcgg9rm)

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)

Chisago County Broadband Profile 2024: Yellow Rating: Ranking 65 out of 87

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

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Chisago 82.82 65 80.71 60 51.94 45

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 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 80.71 76.81 73.63 73.34 71.92 71.26 69.53 65.45
25/3 (2022 goal) 82.82 79.08 78.7 79.21 84.34 83.85 73.27 65.25

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)

Chippewa County Broadband Profile 2024: Yellow Rating: Ranking out 44 of 87

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Rank: 44
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Chippewa 93.89 31 93.63 28 24.2 67

Chippewa County a nice jump in the last year

Chippewa County’s rank bumps from 44 to 28. Percent coverage went from 84.52 percent to 93.63 percent. They have seen progress in the last two years, which is a momentum I hope they can continue.

While efforts are being made to improve broadband, Chippewa County retains their yellow ranking because they have a way to go.

Chippewa County is in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in Chippewa 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.

  • Over the years, Chippewa County (or cities within) has invested $ 2,889,447 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grant. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
  • Chippewa County will benefit from a $2,081,494 MN Broadband grant award to reach 283 locations between Chippewa and Renville Counties.
  • Chippewa County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $6.8 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, Chippewa ranked 54 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • Chippewa County is in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in Chippewa County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (76.09 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (98.3 percent). 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.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 93.96 84.52 80.55 82.67 83.55 81.7 24.8 24.45
25/3 (2022 goal) 93.89 85.37 82.62 86.26 85.23 83.23 72.33 72.28

2024 Grant:

  • County: Chippewa, Renville
    Hanson Communications
    Hanson – Chippewa Cty W
    Grant: $2,081,494
    Local Match: $2,544,150
    Total Budget: $4,625,644
    Hanson will build and operate a Fiber To The Premises (FTTP) network covering the unserved and underserved areas within Southwest Chippewa County. There are 283 total fiber passings in the project. This project comes in partnership with Chippewa County, who has committed $200,000 to the project. Over 68 businesses lacking a 100/20 mbps connection are included in the project area. Most businesses in the project area are related to agrobusiness, machinery, construction, transportation, services & consumer goods. For livestock operations, broadband is a necessity. Remote monitoring and alarm systems, critical for ensuring the health and safety of livestock, rely heavily on broadband connectivity. Additionally, the process of buying and selling livestock and equipment at online auctions is emerging in the online marketplace.

Past Grants:

  • 2022: Farmers Mutual Telephone Company, $4,728,186.00
  • 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile, Grant award: $808,080

Find more articles on broadband in Chippewa County. (http://tinyurl.com/htwz58a)

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)

Cass County Broadband Profile 2024: Red Rating: Ranking out 76 of 87

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Rank: 76
Code:  Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Cass 89.15 48 69.15 76 38.48 57

Cass County: a long way to go

Cass County ranks 76, up 4, for broadband access out of 87 counties. But their coverage has gone from 56.15 percent to 69.15 percent. That’s a nice increase and they lifted themselves out of the bottom 10 ranking, but they still have a way to go. Unfortunately, Cass County will retain their red ranking.

  • Over the years, Cass County (or cities within) has invested $125,000 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
  • Cass County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant award.
  • Cass County will benefit from 8 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $95 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, Cass ranked 68 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • One concern over the years is that they have had decent access to 25/3 for many years, which may make some people feel complacent with the access they have and then broadband dips in community priority.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 69.15 56.15 56.37 64.02 63.21 51.61 35.92 34.07
25/3 (2022 goal) 89.15 91.79 96.44 94.02 84.53 88.02 77.58 66.92

Past Grants:

  • 2-22: Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) was one of the grant recipients, receiving $4,857,030 in funding (to cover St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties)
  • 2016 – TDS TELECOM CASS & CROW WING COUNTIES — GRANT: $3,000,000
  • 2014 – Consolidated Telephone Cooperative, Region 5 Virtual Highway Project – Award $2 million
  • 2020: CTC received CARES Act funding from both Crow Wing and Cass County.
  • 2019: Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916
  • 2019: WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Rural Staples Phase I Project – GRANT $555,355
  • West Central Telephone Association – Rural Staples Phase 2 – GRANT $465,050 This last mile project will serve 56 unserved locations in extremely rural areas of Wadena and Cass counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Cass County. (http://tinyurl.com/hgtulgm)

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)

Carver County Broadband Profile 2024: Green Rating: Ranking out 14 of 87

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Rank: 14
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Carver 98.62 14 98.38 13 49.95 48

Carver County: CarverLink makes plans for 2024

Carver County’s rank bumps from 24 to 14 for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Carver County is lucky to have CarverLink, a publicly owned broadband fiber optics network that celebrated a 10-year anniversary in September 2023. But 10 years seems to be a golden age for the organization. They remain instrumental in brokering deals and using $2.5 million in County funds to construct an additional 80+ miles of rural fiber that will make fiber available to all remaining rural locations throughout the County that do not currently have access to fiber internet. (Access a full CarverNet report.)

With leadership from CarverLink, Carver County retains its green ranking.

  • Over the years, Carver County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants. But CarverLink, Carver County’s publicly owned fiber optics network, has been instrumental in broadband in the community since inception
  • Carver County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant award.
  • Carver County will benefit from 9 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $27.5 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, Carver ranked 2 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 98.38 91.15 93.2 90.2 89.37 86.51 85.09 81.04
25/3 (2022 goal) 98.62 92.22 94 93.32 93.73 92.14 89.81 98.51

Past Grants:

  • 2013, Carver County received ARRA funding for Carverlink, a publicly owned 89-mile base ring with 33 miles of lateral lines. It was completed in Fall of 2013.

Find more articles on broadband in Carver County. (http://tinyurl.com/jxj9v9x)

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)

Carlton County Broadband Profile 2024: Red Rating: Ranking out 78 of 87

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Rank: 78
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Carlton 74.26 78 66.77 78 20.54 76

Carlton County: making progress despite obstacles

Carlton County’s rank has bumped up from 82 to 78. It’s not much but it’s positive and gets them out of the bottom 10 counties.

Unfortunately, Carlton County is one of several counties that is served primary with one national provider, who may not be as invested locally as a local provider or cooperative. The County has shown an interest in investing federal (ARPA) money; they need engaged providers. Increased federal funding may open doors for them. The recent MN Broadband grant will definitely help.

Carlton County still gets a red ranking but I’m hopeful that the influx of funding will encourage more. If I could, I’d give them an orange rank.

  • Over the years, Carlton County (or cities within) has invested $766,654 (total) for matches for 2 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
  • Carlton County will benefit from a 2024 $2,127,530 MN Broadband grant award that will serve 770 locations.
  • Carlton County will benefit from 11 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $59.5 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, Carlton ranked 73 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • Pine Knot News featured Carlton’s Broadband project in June, “The transformational $10.9 million project features 180 miles of fiber optic cable, and will bring higher internet speeds and greater reliability to households across a wide area of rural Carlton County, all the way north to Munger and Solway Township. Mediacom is responsible for the project that has potential to reach 1,679 homes, 420 of those in Thomson Township, should they choose to sign up for the service.”
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 66.77 54.47 48.71 52.08 52.02 47.57 58.22 52.32
25/3 (2022 goal) 74.26 63.33 59.41 72.79 75.17 71.71 67.29 62.74

2024 Grants:

  • County: Carlton
    Consolidated Telephone Company CTC Round 10 Wrenshall Community Broadband Project
    Grant: $2,127,530
    Local Match: $2,127,530
    Total Budget: $4,255,060
    The Consolidated Telephone Company Round 10 Wrenshall Community Broadband project will provide fiber-to-the premise in 770 locations, of which 481 are unserved and 289 underserved. This project will support efforts of residents to work from home, keep up or continue their education, and for businesses to further their community’s vitality.

Past Grants:

  • 2023: Carlton County Broadband Expansion – GRANT $1,271,835
  • 2022: Mediacom Minnesota LLC, $801,834.27 – for a project with a cost of $2,719,526
  • 2022: Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) was one of the grant recipients, receiving $4,857,030 in funding (to cover St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties)
  • 2017 – Carlton County w/ Frontier – Phase I: Cromwell/Kettle River – GRANT: $569,058
  • Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – Big Lake Road Project – GRANT $602,916

Find more articles on broadband in Carlton County. (http://tinyurl.com/z4me5k4)

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)

Brown County Broadband Profile 2024: Red Rating: Ranking out 52 of 87

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Rank: 52
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Brown 87.5 57 84.12 52 73.69 26

Brown County: maybe some deployment will spur more

Brown County is up from 54 to 52 rank after a drop last year from 45 to 54 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They will benefit from a recent MN Broadband Grant award but they have no line extension awards and haven’t invested any local government funding into broadband.

Brown gets a red ranking because their growth continues to be very slow.

  • Over the years, Brown County (or cities within) has not invested for matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
  • Brown County will benefit from a 2024 $395,138 MN Broadband grant award that will serve 245 locations between Brown and Cottonwood Counties.
  • Brown County will not benefit from line extension awards.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $21 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, Brown ranked 34 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 84.12 78.4 79.96 75.99 74.6 74.5 73.76 72.89
25/3 (2022 goal) 87.5 83.31 84.88 84.66 83.67 83.66 96.31 95.92

2024 Grants:

County: Brown, Cottonwood
Hanson Communications
Hanson – Comfrey FTTP
Grant: $395,138
Local Match: $592,711
Total Budget: $987,849
Hanson Communications will build and operate a Fiber to the Premises network to cover the unserved and underserved areas in Comfrey, MN. Hanson has identified this project as an area in need of better broadband as nearly 85% of the town is unserved according to the Minnesota definition of broadband service. There are 245 total fiber passings in the project including 161 unserved households, 47 unserved businesses, and 5 unserved community anchor institutions, including the school, the fire station, the City office, the post office and the community center. There are an additional 27 underserved households, and 5 businesses. Many of the people who work and live in Comfrey are connected to agriculture in some way, shape or form. Farmers, specifically, can achieve heightened efficiency and tap into new markets and resources by integrating broadband into their farming and livestock operations. The city of Comfrey has contributed $10,000 toward the project.

Past Grants:

  • 2107 – New Ulm Telecom, Inc.– Hanska A&D FTTP – GRANT $324,894
  • 2016 – New Ulm Telecom, Inc. – Hanska – GRANT: $ 200,397
  • 2019: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – New Ulm SW Project – GRANT $385,600
  • Minnesota Valley Telephone Company (MVTC) – Rural Franklin Fiber Project – GRANT $226,800. This middle and last mile project will serve approximately 45 unserved locations in the City of Franklin and the townships of Sherman, Eden, Camp and Birch Cooley in Redwood, Renville and Brown counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Brown County. (http://tinyurl.com/z2wwkye)

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)

Blue Earth County Broadband Profile 2024: Red Rating: Ranking out 63 of 87

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Rank: 63
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Blue Earth 88.84 50 79.55 63 55.32 43

Blue Earth County: Middle of the pack and dropping

Blue Earth County dropped from 61 to 63 following a dip of 41 to 61 the year before for broadband out of 87 counties.

Blue Earth County had a broadband feasibility study done in 2019. They might do well to loop back to that study for ideas of what to do to prepare for future funding. They are getting a red ranking because they have moved backwards and there doesn’t seem to be a current push to move forward.

  • Over the years, Blue Earth County (or cities within) has invested $39,249 (total) for matches for 1 successful MN Broadband grant. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
  • Blue Earth County will benefit from a 2024 435,838 MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 101 locations between Blue Earth and Faribault Counties.
  • Blue Earth County will not benefit from line extension awards.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $49.1 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, Blue Earth ranked 18 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 79.55 76.46 81.88 80.76 77.81 77.91 14.13 55.6
25/3 (2022 goal) 88.84 89.37 92.5 84.78 85.36 78.33 77.95 88.35

2024 Grants:

  • County: Blue Earth, Faribault
    Bevcomm (Easton) Telephone
    Bevcomm (Easton) Rural MN Lake
    Grant: $435,838
    Local Match: $1,016,956
    Total Budget: $1,452,794
    Bevcomm will build an underground fiber broadband network to 101 locations (86 unserved and 15 underserved), offering speeds up to a Gigabit symmetrically with unlimited data, to portions of rural Faribault and Blue Earth Counties. This project will impact 55 farms, 32 households, and 14 businesses. Faribault County EDA has pledged $5,000 and Minnesota Lake Township has pledged $1,000 toward project costs. Bevcomm has to date received 25 state grants, all of which have been successfully deployed and completed on time.

Past Grants:

  • 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile Grant award: $808,080

Find more articles on broadband in Blue Earth County. (http://tinyurl.com/j5pe9kr)

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)

Big Stone County Broadband Profile 2024: Green Rating: Ranking out 11 of 87

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Rank: 11
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Big Stone 98.97 13 98.97 11 41.46 53

Big Stone County almost there

Big Stone County rank dipped from 6 to 11. The percentage coverage dipped slightly too, but the map seems more stringent this year. And the dip is slight. They are down to just a handful of households without broadband and that is why they maintain their green standing.

2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 98.97 99.71 97.9 98.6 98.6 98.91 98.91 70.12
25/3 (2022 goal) 98.97 99.71 97.17 99.48 99.48 99.58 98.91 70.12

Past Grants:

  • 2014 – Federated Telephone Cooperative, Big Stone County

Find more articles on broadband in Big Stone County. (http://tinyurl.com/zfgwstd)

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)

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.

Benton County Broadband Profile 2024: Green Rating: Ranking out 16 of 87

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Rank: 16
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Benton 98.38 15 97.95 16 40.46 54

Benton County: so close after steady progress for years

Benton County’s rank bumps up to 16 from 20 for broadband after a nice climb from 25 last year. They hovered around 89 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019 but this year they broke through to almost 98 percent!

Benton County gets a green ranking because they are so close to the goal and seem to have built momentum to getting it done.

  • Over the years, Benton County (or cities within) has invested $ 1,154,008 (total) for matches for 4 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
  • Benton County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant.
  • Benton County will not benefit from line extension awards.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $7 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, Benton ranked 30 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Broadband Access:

2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 97.95 94.14 89.94 90.25 89.36 88.18 25.83 14.28
25/3 (2022 goal) 98.38 95.46 90.96 92.88 92.05 91.47 87.49 87.61

Past Grants:

  • 2023:  Cooperative Telephone – Benton County South of Trunk Highway 23 – GRANT $2,988,275
  • 2017 – Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Rice Ramey – GRANT $765,015
  • 2017 – Palmer Wireless – Duelm Hwy 95 – GRANT $162,814
  • 2014-CenturyLink Foley, Benton County–Balkan Township – Award: $382,883.
  • 2020: Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase I – GRANT $936,759
  • Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase 2 Project – GRANT $338,011

Find more articles on broadband in Benton County (https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=benton+county&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)

Beltrami County Broadband Profile 2024: Green Rating: Ranking out 12 of 87

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Rank: 12
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Beltrami 99.06 12 98.73 12 98.73 4

Beltrami County well served thanks to Paul Bunyan

Beltrami County ranks 12 for broadband access; same as last year. They have hovered around 99 percent access to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019. The effort to get ubiquitous broadband stems from local cooperative, Paul Bunyan Communications.

A recent report noted that Paul Bunyan’s investment has led to business growth. In Oct 2024, The Center on Rural Innovation looked at Paul Bunyan’s impact in the community: “…And based on Beltrami County’s steady business growth it seems Paul Bunyan Communications’ approach is paying off. Since 2010, the number of businesses in Beltrami County has grown by 12.1% (which amounts to an average annual increase of 1.1%), outperforming both the state and the country as a whole…”

  • Over the years, Beltrami County (or cities within) has not invested for matches any successful MN Broadband grants.
  • Beltrami County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant.
  • Beltrami County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $230,000 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, Beltrami ranked 40 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • They have an engaged cooperative provider and it seems likely that they should reach the goal of ubiquitous broadband. It’s worth noting that they rank number 4 for Gig access.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 98.73 98.75 98.86 99.25 99.25 98.79 96.3 96.35
25/3 (2022 goal) 99.06 98.93 98.92 99.49 99.49 99.41 99.4 99.36

Past Grants:

Find more articles on broadband in Beltrami County. (http://tinyurl.com/z5yvec6)

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.)

You can see there are just a few locations in the southeast corner of the 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)

Becker County Broadband Profile 2024: Yellow Rating: Ranking out 56 of 87

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Rank: 56
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Becker 89.92 45 82.62 56 28.34 64

Becker County: starting to stall?

Becker County rank dropped from 41 to 56 for broadband access out of 87 counties. The speed dipped slightly, but in a year where the map saw bigger changes. I don’t think the issue is going backward but stalling, which is why they are getting a yellow rating.

They don’t have any grants coming in but these do have a large number (89) of line extensions coming in, which will help get broadband to 89 locations and maybe reach more in the process.

  • Over the years, Becker County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
  • Becker County will not benefit from recent MN Broadband grant awards.
  • Becker County will benefit from 89 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations. This is a high number of awards. (Arvig was awarded 69 of the awards.)
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $27.5 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, Becker ranked 38 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • ecker County went from 6 percent coverage to 100/20 in 2020. They have had measured increase to the goal since.
  • In 2022, local provider Arvig committed to spending almost $20 million on upgrades in Becker, Otter Tail and Redwood Counties.
  • In 2023, Arvig announced their plan to use E-ACAM funds to bring 100Mbps broadband to Becker, Hubbard, Otter Tail, Redwood, Stearns, Todd Counties.
2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 82.62 84.75 78.45 73.42 73.41 6.22 12.95 6.58
25/3 (2022 goal) 89.92 93.96 92 92.53 78.99 91.36 88.94 69.41

Past Grants

  • 2016 – PAUL BUNYAN COMMUNICATIONS HUBBARD, BECKER & ITASCA COUNTIES – GRANT: $1,742,232
  • Arvig (Loretel Systems, Inc.) – Cormorant Lakes Area Project – GRANT $430,780

Find more articles on broadband in Becker County. (http://tinyurl.com/jkah37b)

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)

Anoka County Broadband Profile 2024: Green Rating: Ranking 20 out of 87

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Rank: 20
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Anoka 98.35 16 97.34 20 17.05 81

Anoka County Almost there – still

Anoka County coverage dips slightly and rank dips from 11 to 20 but they remain very close to covered.  They will benefit from a recently announced MN Broadband grant and that will help.

They have stayed constant with about 96 percent coverage of broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2017.  They have the advantage of being part of the 7-county metro area which doesn’t mean the county doesn’t have rural areas but proximity to urban areas helps build a market of user and closer deployment.

  • Over the years, Anoka County (or cities within) has invested $164795 (total) for match for 1 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
  • Anoka County will benefit from a 2024 $800,000 MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 237 locations (between Anoka and Chisago Counties.
  • Anoka County will benefit from 20 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
  • In Oct 2024, the County board approved up to $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the broadband.
  • Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $43 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, Anoka County worked with Blandin Foundation as an IRBC (Iron Range Broadband Community) and they were cohorts in Blandin’s inaugural Accelerate! program.
  • In the past, a roadblock for Anoka was that the county is widely served by a national provider that had not been upgrading the connections in their area.
  • In 2022, Anoka ranked 14 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
  • Anoka received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant in 2013, which has helped serve government facilities.
  • Anoka gets a green ranking because they are so close to goal. Anoka is part of the seven county metro area, which means the population density is much of the county makes it an attractive market for providers, but there are certainly rural parts to Anoka County as well.

Broadband Access:

 Anoka 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 97.34 98.93 96.64 97.41 97.14 97.45 97.86 96.1
25/3 (2022 goal) 98.35 99.22 97.72 98.72 98.57 98.8 98.87 97.56

2024 Grants:

  • 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.

Previous Grants:

  • 2023: Comcast-Xfinity – Comcast/City of Nowthen – GRANT $2,549,413
  • 2022: Tekstar Communications Inc, dba Arvig, $219,727
  • 2013: The County received federal (ARRA) funding in 2013. In partnership with Zayo, the County was able to build a 287-mile broadband network for government facilities.

Find more articles on broadband in Anoka County.(http://tinyurl.com/zuvt4x7)

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)

Aitkin County Broadband Profile 2024: Yellow Rating: Ranking 73 out of 87

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Rank: 73
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

County 25/3
(% covered)		 25/3 rank 100/20
(% covered)		 100/20 rank Gig
(% covered)		 Gig
rank
Aitkin 76.63 75 73.35 73 56.25 41

Aitkin County’s Bumpy but Engaged Ride to Broadband

Aitkin’s rank/coverage has bounced up and down over the last three years from 60.36% (2022) to 84.75% (2023) to 73.35 (2024). There have been a lot of changes in the mapping in 2024; I suspect this year is a correction.

Aitkin is engaged and investing in broadband in their community and they have been for many years. They have a mix of local and national broadband providers. It will be interesting to see who bids for BEAD funding and what their goals are. Aitkin County’s poverty level is higher than state average, which may impact business case in the area. 

Broadband Access:

Aitkin 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
100/20 (2026 goal) 73.35 84.75 60.36 52.96 46.66 37.74 17.55 11.52
25/3 (2022 goal) 76.63 93.96 68.13 64.32 63.62 60.17 45.68 27.48

2024 Grants:

  • Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative MLEC Fiber – Cedar Lake
    Grant: $1,808,768
    Local Match: $2,266,272
    Total Budget: $4,075,040
    The MLEC Fiber – Cedar Lake project will see continued collaboration between Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) and Consolidated Telecommunications Company (CTC) to expand fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) to a significantly unserved area in Aitkin County. The project will expand off the existing MLEC Fiber network to bring vital communications to help with distance learning, remote working, and telemedicine needs in Aitkin County at 421 locations, including 317 unserved and 104 underserved residential and season homes, small farms, and home businesses. Aitkin County has pledged $25,000 to this project.

Past Grants:

  • Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) – Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative Phase 4 FTTH – GRANT $198,607. This fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) project will serve 80 unserved and five underserved locations along the southeast side of Farm Island Lake in Aitkin County. Through a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota, MLEC will bring 1 Gbps speeds to 84 homes and one business on the fiber route, exceeding the State’s 2022 and 2026 speed goals.
  • 2017 – SCI – Shamrock Township Broadband Expansion – GRANT $148,503
  • 2016 – MILLE LACS ENERGY COOPERATIVE FTTP PROJECT – GRANT: $1,757,640
  • 2020 – Emily Cooperative Telephone Company – Round Lake Fiber Project – GRANT $376,000
  • 2020 Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative (MLEC) – MLEC Phase 3 FTTH Project with CTC – GRANT $1,253,955
  • 2020: SCI Broadband (Savage Communications Inc.) – Glen Township Broadband Expansion Project – GRANT $195,848

Find more articles on broadband in Aitkin County. (http://tinyurl.com/hdqdmhr)

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.)

As you can see the unserved households are both scattered and clustered in Aitkin 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) MN speed goals and will code each:

  • Red (yikes)
  • Yellow (warning)
  • Green (good shape)