Rank: 19
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Benton County: so close after steady progress for years

Benton County’s coverage dipped a little in the next year but it seem that it’s within a margin of error. They haven’t benefited from State Grants or Line Extension awards in the last couple years.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 361 locations in Anoka County. However, the majority of locations will get a satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Benton County gets a green ranking because they are so close to the goal, but it feels as if they could use a burst of renewed engagement.

Broadband Access:

Possible BEAD support

The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal has not yet been approved so the information below is subject to change; it includes the number of locations by county specifying provider and broadband type. (Learn more.)

Locations in Anoka: 361
The locations include a majority of satellite connections.

Local Government Match for State Broadband Grants:

Over the years, many local governments (County, Municipal, Tribal) have invested in broadband deployment. This year, I have tracked how much local investment has been used to match MN State Grants. Local governments invest in other ways too, but this was one number I could realistically find and quantify investment by county, which means investment in that county, whether by county, cities or other local government entity.

In Benton $1,154,008 was invested over the years on four projects.

No new Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 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.

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 come from the

• Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2025 – tracking wireline access.
• The FCC National Broadband Maps, reflecting data updated November 28, 2025 – tracking fixed wireless access.

MAPS

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)