AT&T reports… Minnesota’s first responders are getting a major boost in their wireless communications with the addition of new, purpose-built FirstNet cell sites and other network enhancements. This new infrastructure is part of the FirstNet network expansion taking place across the state, … Continue reading
Rank (from 100/20 megabits per second): 5 Code: Green Annually, Blandin Foundation pulls together data from the Minnesota Office of Broadband Development and broadband news to gauge progress toward the state broadband goals (25 megabits per second download/3 Mbps upload … Continue reading
I wrote about the big announcement from DEED’s Telecommuter Forward Program last week, but it’s always fun to see local communities get local recognition for their efforts. The Bemidji Pioneer reports… Beltrami County was congratulated as a telecommuter-friendly community earlier this … Continue reading
Good news from Paul Bunyan… Paul Bunyan Communications is expanding its all-fiber optic network to parts of Southeast Beltrami County in the Pennington area this year and recently was awarded a Border to Border Broadband Grant from the state of … Continue reading
Beltrami County is poised to meet the MN speed goals for both 2022 and 2026. In fact, they have been celebrating their first place ranking (for access to Gig speeds) since the latest maps came out in summer of 2019. … Continue reading
Late last month, Paul Bunyan posted a press release on Beltrami County having the best broadband in the state. It looks like the Bemidji Pioneer is elaborating… When it comes to broadband internet access in Minnesota, Beltrami County is No. … Continue reading
Paul Bunyan just posted a press release about the awesome connectivity in Beltrami County. Glad for Beltrami, but I also like the idea of a provider or community marketing themselves with a press release on their broadband… Minnesota’s Department of … Continue reading
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. When last we checked, Beltrami was ranked number 6 for broadband access … Continue reading
Beltrami County is more than 99 percent served both at current (25/3) (Mbps down/up) and future (100/20) state speed goals. Paul Bunyan and Arvig are two independent providers that serve portions of the county. Paul Bunyan has been aggressively expanding … Continue reading
In November, Connect Minnesota released their final report on broadband availability. Here is how Beltrami County stacked up: Household Density: 5.5 Number of Households: 16,846 Percentage serviced (without mobile): 98.46% Percentage serviced (with mobile): 98.46% Beltrami County is close to … Continue reading
MinnPost reports… A group of northern Minnesota counties, cities, towns and school districts are now on the hook for a massive bill from Enbridge Energy after a long-running court saga over the oil and gas company’s property taxes was largely … Continue reading
The Bemidji Pioneer reports… On the subject of funding, Klobuchar said she’s returning to Washington D.C. next week for the start of discussions on an infrastructure package. According to the White House’s website, President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan calls for $100 … Continue reading
Fun news from Paul Bunyan Communications… The last Saturday of GigaZone Gaming Championship 5 was held virtually Saturday, April 24 with the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament. Hunter Branson who won the Super Smash Bros. Tournament in 2019, defended his … Continue reading
National Association of Counties (NACo) reports… the State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Funds legislation, part of the American Rescue Plan Act, was signed into law by President Biden on March 11. The bill includes $65.1 billion in direct, flexible aid … Continue reading
MN Legislature looks at funds for Broadband Grants The House has a bill to fund the Border to Border grants at $120 million for the biennium. The Senate has three bills related to broadband funding: one for $120 million for … Continue reading
