Rank: 66
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)
| county | 25/3 | 253 rank | 100/20 | 10020 rank | Gig | gig rank | Providers |
| Nicollet | 84.01 | 69 | 80.91 | 66 | 63.23 | 39 | 17 |
Nicollet County: stagnant since 2019
Nicollet County has not seen broadband progress in the last year, so they retain their Red status.
At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 1,130 locations in Anoka County. Locations qualify for an even split between fiber and satellite/fixed wireless connections, which do 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. (Nicollet has not benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that might be a strategy worth considering.)
Statewide, there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| 100/20 (2026 goal) | 80.91 | 80.72 | 76.25 | 77.29 | 78.49 | 78.29 | 78.42 | 33.29 | 54.54 |
| 25/3 (2022 goal) | 84.01 | 85.23 | 85.19 | 86.83 | 83.87 | 83.67 | 82.68 | 83.91 | 86.1 |
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 Nicolett: 1,130
The locations include a pretty even split between fiber and satellite or fixed wireless connections.
| County | Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC | AMG Technology Investment Group, LLC d/b/a Nextlink Internet | IBT Group USA, LLC | Midco | Nuvera | Locations Grand Total | County |
| Technology Type | Low Earth Orbit Satellite | Fixed Wireless | Fixed Wireless | Fiber | Fiber | ||
| Nicollet | 4 | 551 | 1 | 531 | 43 | 1,130 | Nicollet |
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 Nicollet 0 was invested over the years.
New Posts from 2025:
Highlights from Past Reports
- 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $25 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, Nicollet ranked 17 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
Past grants:
- 2022: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Nicollet County RTF DTF FTTP – GRANT $479,011 (Learn more)
- 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile = Grant award: $808,080
- MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – New Ulm HDT 202 FTTP – GRANT $444,386 This last mile project north of New Ulm will serve approximately 80 unserved and 67 underserved locations in Nicollet County.
Find more articles on broadband in Nicollet County (http://tinyurl.com/h3zwpbd)
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.
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- Nicolett County (MN Map)
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- Nicollet County (National Map)
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)