Rank:  42
Code: Yellow
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Dodge	90.24	45	88.86	42	88.06	16	16

Dodge County: steady progress has stalled

Dodge County broadband coverage has been stagnant at 88 percent for several years.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 94 locations in Dodge County. However, all the locations will get a satellite, 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. (Dakota has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.) Statewide here have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Dodge County retains their yellow status due to stagnation and little prospects from the potential BEAD funding.

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	88.86	88.96	88.5	84.2	80.62	77.37	77.08	74.59	94.9
25/3 (2022 goal)	90.24	90.8	89.87	88.48	84.86	84.02	82.78	76.4	99.37

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 Dodge: 94
The locations will all get satellite.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Dodge	92	2	94	Dodge

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.

Dodge has not invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Dodge County providers received $73,944.50 in the first three rounds of Line Extension awards

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $8.4 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, Dodge ranked 9 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2023: KM Telecom – Rural Byron & Salem Corners Fiber Build – GRANT $1,931,046
• 2021: KMTelecom – Rock Dell Northwest Fiber Build – GRANT $385,173
• 2021: KMTelecom – Rock Dell Southwest Fiber Build – GRANT $404,709

• 2017 – KMTelecom – Rural Kasson Fiber Build – GRANT $606,108
• 2016 – KMTELECOM RURAL MANTORVILLE – GRANT: $764,663

Find more articles on broadband in Dodge County. (http://tinyurl.com/znpmlfr)

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)