Rank: 75
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Wabasha	78.6	78	74.86	75	70.82	31	14

Wabasha County: need faster expansion

Wabasha County’s broadband coverage has increased slightly but they are still a long way from ubiquitous coverage and BEAD funding will not close the gap. Subsequently, 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 2,986 locations in Wabasha County. Some locations will get fiber but the majority of 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. (Anoka 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.

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
100/20 (2026 goal)	74.86	73.63	71.92	71.24	66.67	66.31	66.31	66.17	61.7
25/3 (2022 goal)	78.6	77.73	75.96	74.01	78.33	77.96	77.61	74.35	83.59

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 Wabasha: 2,986
The locations include a majority of satellite and fixed wireless connections.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	IBT Group USA, LLC	Mediacom LLC	Nuvera	Space Exploration Technologies Corp.	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Fixed Wireless	Fiber	Fiber	Low Earth Orbit Satellite
Wabasha	1,122	1,622	1	145	96	2,986	Wabasha

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 Wabasha 0 was invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Wabasha County providers received $1,182,818 in the first three rounds of Line Extension awards
• Becker County community leaders testify at the MN Legislature on the value of data centers in their community.
• More on Becker County experience recruiting data centers.

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $16.1 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, Wabasha ranked 24 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2012: $1 million in their ARPA funding on broadband
• 2016 – NEW ULM TELECOM, INC. MAZEPPA – GRANT: $ 317,761

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Goodhue West FTTP – GRANT $532,232 This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and two underserved locations in Goodhue, Zumbrota, Minneola, and Belle Creek townships in Goodhue County and Chester Township in Wabasha County.

Find more articles on broadband in Wabasha County (http://tinyurl.com/gpllcg8)

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)