Rank: 23
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Marshall	97.92	24	96.95	23	92.25	13	11

Marshall County continued momentum into green ranking

Marshall County broadband coverage has been steady since 2018 and improvement continues, which is why their retain Green status.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 10 locations in Marshall County, but they will all get 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. (Marshall has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that may be a strategy worth considering.)

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

Given their proximity to 90 percent coverage, Marhsall County retains their green ranking.

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	96.95	93.55	89.15	82.9	77.31	71.6	53.08	48.2	9.2
25/3 (2022 goal)	97.92	94.61	89.15	83.43	78.36	85.3	56.11	50.84	33.49

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: 10
The locations include only satellite connections.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Marshall	10	10	Marshall

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 Marshall 0 was invested over the years.

No New Posts from 2025:

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $362,700 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, Marshall ranked 61 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2023: Garden Valley Technologies – 2023 Rural Warren SW – GRANT $1,488,322
• 2022: Garden Valley Technologies – Rural Warren East & Rural Oslo – GRANT $1,462,569 (serves Marshall and Polk)
• 2022: Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc – Wiktel NW MN Broadband 2022 – GRANT $665,699 (serves Kittson, Lake of the Woods, & Marshall)
• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Garden Valley Technologies – Northwest Thief River Falls and Euclid – GRANT $1,640,722 This middle and last mile project will serve 104 unserved and 22 underserved locations in portions of Marshall and Polk counties.

• 2017 – Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband – GRANT $1,307,785
• 2016 – GARDEN VALLEY TELEPHONE COMPANY RURAL THIEF RIVER FALLS EAST – GRANT: $2,027,035
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY (WITH BEAMCO, INC.) RURAL ALVARADO – GRANT: $43,481
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
• 2014 – Wikstrom Telephone, Kittson, Marshall, Roseau Broadband Extension – Award $425,000
• Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526

Find more articles on broadband in Marshall County (http://tinyurl.com/zamfwj3)

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)