Rank: 17
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Carver	98.07	22	97.85	17	57.31	48	19

Carver County: CarverLink makes plans for 2024

Carver County is lucky to have CarverLink, a publicly owned broadband fiber optics network that celebrated a 10-year anniversary in September 2023.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 460 locations in Carver County. Some of the locations will get fiber while some locations will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Carver has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.) There have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

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

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	97.85	98.38	91.15	93.2	90.2	89.37	86.51	85.09	81.04
25/3 (2022 goal)	98.07	98.62	92.22	94	93.32	93.73	92.14	89.81	98.51

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 Carver: 460
The locations include a majority of satellite and fixed wireless connections.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	IBT Group USA, LLC	Midco	Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Fixed Wireless	Fiber	Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Carver	111	168	166	15	460	Carver

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.

Carver has not invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Carver County providers received $65,664 in the first three rounds of Line Extension awards
• Carver County is getting closer and closer to ubiquitous Gig coverage
• Mediacom expands multi-gig service to parts of Renville, Sibley, Carver and McLeod Counties
• Comcast to expand broadband to Prior Lake, Savage, Victoria and Waconia (Carver and Scott Counties)

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 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.

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 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.

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)