Rank: 11
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

county	25/3	253 rank	100/20	10020 rank	Gig	gig rank	Providers
Wadena	99.32	13	99.32	11	65.67	35	13

Wadena County: still near the top

Wadena County’s broadband coverage has stayed about the same but they have almost ubiquitous coverage, which is why they 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 19 locations in Wadena County. Some locations will get fiber and the rest will get a satellite 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. (Wadena has not benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems like a strategy worth considering to reach the last households.)

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)	99.32	99.49	99.32	98.88	97.29	95.53	91.07	49.91	45.69
25/3 (2022 goal)	99.32	99.51	99.36	98.92	97.36	95.53	93.01	92.37	88.23

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 Wadena: 19
The locations include fiber and satellite connections.

County	Amazon Kuiper Commercial Services LLC	CTC	Locations         Grand Total	County
Technology Type	Low Earth Orbit Satellite	Fiber
Wadena	10	9	19	Wadena

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 Wadena 0 was invested over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• MN’s WCTA celebrates 75 years in business

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023estimates indicated that it would cost $353,400 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, Wadena ranked 77 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2015 – West Central Telephone Association Hwy 71 Wadena NORTH Expansion Project – Grant Award: $193,515
• WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Rural Staples Phase I Project – GRANT $555,355

Find more articles on broadband in Wadena County (http://tinyurl.com/z7xgkz8)

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)