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

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Kittson	99.2	15	98.82	12	98.82	6	8

Kittson County: keeps improving and getting close

Kittson County has continued to improve for the last few years and now they are very close to goal, which is why they retain their Green status.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 14 locations in Kittson County. However, the majority of locations will get a satellite and only 14 locations are slated to get support.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Kittson has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.)

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

Broadband Access:

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	98.92	95.92	92.69	87.57	80.13	80.11	74.99	71.38	3.46
25/3 (2022 goal)	99.2	97	92.69	87.71	80.2	80.11	74.99	71.38	65.62

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 Kittson: 14
The locations will get satellite.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Kittson	14	14	Kittson

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 Kittson 0 was invested over the years.

No new Posts from 2025

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $534,000 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, Kittson ranked 67 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• County: Kittson – Wikstrom Telephone Co, Inc. – Wiktel – NW MN Broadband RD9
  Grant: $3,066,630, Local Match: $1,022,210, Total Budget: $4,088,840
• 2023: Wikstrom Telephone Company – Wiktel NW MN Broadband 2023 – GRANT $2,531,488

• 2022: Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc, $665,699.00 (serving Beltrami, Kittson, Lake of the Woods and Marshall)

• 2017 – Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband – GRANT $1,307,785
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
• 2014 – Wikstrom Telephone, Kittson, Marshall, Roseau Broadband Extension – Award $425,000
• 2019 Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526

Find more articles on broadband in Kittson. (https://bit.ly/2kcNnpz)

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)