Category Archives: Building Broadband Tools

Minnesota’s Five-Year Broadband Action Plan for BEAD funding

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Over the weekend, I had a chance to read through the Five Year Broadband Action Plan created by the MN Office of Broadband Development as part of the BEAD process. (It’s a precursor of sorts to the Initial Proposal due in December 2023.) At the highest level, it seems to say that Minnesota, through the Office of Broadband Development, is well poised to administer the BEAD money  because they have been doing it for a long time. If this were a resume, I’m pretty sure we’d get the job.

They outline the current situation:

The FCC data identified 134,850 unserved locations (lack broadband service of at least 25Mbps download/3Mbps upload by a wired or licensed fixed wireless service). That total includes 7,067 locations determined to be high cost for deploying broadband.

Minnesota’s most recent data (as of 12/31/2022) identified 152,000 unserved locations without a wired broadband service delivering speeds of at least 25Mbps download/3Mbps upload (shown in pink on above map) and 229,000 underserved locations without a wired broadband service delivering speeds of at least 100Mbps download/20Mbps upload (total of pink and purple on above map). Minnesota statutes identify locations without a wired service of at least 100/20 as eligible for broadband grant funding, thus for purposes of determining grant eligibility, OBD focuses on those areas lacking a wired broadband service.

The highlight points of synchronicity…

Minnesota’s statutory goals directly align with those of the BEAD program, prioritizing the deployment of broadband infrastructure to locations that are unserved, then deploying infrastructure to locations that are underserved.

And there’s a plan to update the estimated costs to securing universal access in MN at speeds of 100/20

The cost estimate to achieve universal broadband service in Minnesota is under development. In the Governor’s Task Force on Broadband’s Annual Report for 2022, the estimate necessary for achieving full coverage was $2,764,500,000, using a cost per passing of $9,500 and the number of homes without broadband service of at least 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload as 291,000. The cost share attributable to provider/community match was then factored in at both 50 percent and 75 percent. The result was the need for public funding of $1,382,250,000 with a 50 percent match and $2,073,375,000 with a 75 percent match. Amounts calculated to be received from ARPA CPF, ReConnect 3, RDOF, NTIA Tribal awards, BEAD, and Federal Direct Appropriations were then factored in.

Prior to the submission of the Initial Proposal, OBD will do additional work to calculate a more accurate cost per passing by reviewing the results of our two most recent grant rounds (including the first round of our Lower Population Density Program), reviewing any data available from CostQuest, examining factors that would increase costs in various geographies of Minnesota, using NTIA’s toolkit, and discussing with providers serving in the various regions of the state.

They also highlight the barriers to getting broadband to everyone. Funding is the big one:

Funding—despite the eight broadband infrastructure grant rounds funded and administered in Minnesota, awarding over $280M, and two additional state funded grant rounds totaling $100M anticipated in the next year, even with the BEAD allocation, Minnesota expects to be short funds to improve broadband speeds and reliability to all currently unserved and underserved locations. The most recent grant round saw funding requests at three times funding availability.

The weather, uncertainty, supply chain are other issues. There is also Minnesota communities’ preference for fiber:

Community based support and communities generally want fiber—in Minnesota, high speed broadband generally means fiber when speaking with communities. If the once-in-a-lifetime infusion of funding for broadband deployment is going to serve as the permanent solution for a community’s broadband needs, then most every community wants that solution to be fiber. In most grant applications OBD has seen since 2014, fiber projects predominate.

There will always be a place for wireless broadband, but I think the focus on fiber is as result of Minnesota’s communities’ experience learning about broadband since 2010 (even before!). This is an area where it’s nice to see Minnesota offer its experience to expect/ask the most from the federal funding.

Another barrier is the mapping situation:

CostQuest license barriers–OBD and its mapping partner are working through the licensing requirements of the CostQuest license to continue the Minnesota map which is familiar to our residents, businesses and providers. Hopefully the data can be as transparent as prior maps, but that remains to be determined.

Minnesota is slated to get about $650 million for broadband through BEAD. That isn’t going to change and as stated above, it might not be enough, subsequently accurate maps are going to be key to equitable investment. Minnesota has been mapping broadband for many years. The maps have been created with data provided by providers but residents have always had the opportunity to run a speed text and report any discrepancies to OBD. I have heard that mapping challenges are not as straightforward for the FCC maps, especially for aggregate challenge options. Maybe this is another area where Minnesota’s expertise can shine.

Arvig upgrades to 400 Gbps-capable routes in parts of its Minnesota backbone

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Telecompetitor reports…

Fiber broadband provider Arvig has announced completion of  the construction of its first 400 Gbps-capable routes in parts of its Minnesota backbone.

The routes, located in the  Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, offer the potential for four times as much capacity as the former 100 Gbps network. They also reach into central and north central Minnesota, going into major regional hubs that include St. Cloud. The upgraded portions of the backbone can scale to 1 Tbps.

Their mode of growth has been diverse…

Arvig is using a variety of growth strategies in its expansion. In January of this year, the company acquired a fiber network from ALP Utilities that serves about 130 businesses in the city of Alexandria, MN.

In July 2022, the company entered a $4.4 million public–private partnership with Redwood County, MN, to bring 1 Gbps connectivity to residential customers and 10 Gbps service to businesses in Belview, Clements, Morgan, Seaforth, Vesta, Wabasso, Walnut Grove and Wanda.

The partnership is partially funded by a $1.3 million grant Arvig received in December 2022 from Minnesota’s Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program. In addition, Arvig will contribute $1.2 million to the project and the county will add $1.9 million through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). It is expected to be completed in June 2025.

Arvig’s Minnesota network currently has 27 data centers and more than 15,500 route miles and is growing by at least 1,000 miles per year. The company offers internet, television and telephone services to more than 54,000 residential and business customers in Minnesota.

 

Celebrating 10 years of Carver County’s CarverLink Fiber Network

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Time flies when you’ve got fiber! I remember the start of CarverLink and I’m thankful that they’d share their highlights. Like all overnight success stories, it takes more than a day. Carver County got ARRA funding, which helped greatly. Any community interested in BEAD funding might take a look at how Carver made it happen…

It is hard to believe but September 2023 is the 10 year “Go Live” anniversary of Carver County’s CarverLink Public Fiber Network.  Oh, how we have grown over the past decade.

The primary purpose for CarverLink is to provide quality and reliable fiber connectivity to support the County’s operations, from sheriff and public works activities to our libraries, parks and license centers.  The secondary purpose for CarverLink is threefold 1) Provide fiber connectivity to our 20+ public and community support partners; 2) Provide a fiber network that is available to private service providers (such as Metronet, Arvig and others) to make available high speed broadband to our businesses and residents; 3) Utilize CarverLink’s fiber resources to make available appropriate connectivity options to other regional public entities via fiber barters, sharing and collaborations that benefit the County and/or region.

All this growth is possible because of the strong “family” relationship we have built with our public and community support partners coupled with the County Board’s understanding of the value and long term commitment to devote resources to broadband.  This commitment and understanding is helping us towards reaching our goal of becoming the first county in the State to make available high speed broadband to all locations within the County that desire it.

And we absolutely need to call out the positive and mutually beneficial public-private relationship we have had and continue to have with our primary fiber partner Metronet (previously Jaguar Communications).  The noncompetitive, non-adversarial, shared vision and true desire for mutual success from both parties is what has made this public private collaboration a success and a relationship to be mirrored for other public private partnerships.

A little history on Carver County’s fiber efforts over the past 15 years

  • Between 2007-2010 Carver County identifies the need for fiber connectivity and dedicates resources to work on multiple design and associated funding options to construct a fiber network, which includes multiple submissions for broadband grant funding from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
  • Aug 2010 the County is notified it is an awardee of a $6 million grant for a $7.5 million fiber project from ARRA funding for a public private partnership project with Jaguar Communications to construct a 122 mile fiber network
  • Feb 2011 the County lights up its first ever fiber segment, which runs from the Carver County Govt Center in Chaska to the Scott County Govt Center in Shakopee underneath the MN River on Hwy 41
  • August 2011 the County begins construction on the partially ARRA funded CarverLink fiber network constructing a segment between Chaska and City of Carver
  • April 2013 based on an urgent request from Eastern Carver County Schools District 112 due to a major need for bandwidth currently unavailable from any existing private service providers, CarverLink connects to and begins providing internet service to the Chanhassen High School making them our first connected public entity partner
  • Sept 2013 Carver County’s newly renamed CarverLink fiber network officially goes live
  • July 2015 based on unprecedented public entity use, CarverLink hits its peak maximum bandwidth limit 3 years early
  • Sept 2016 CarverLink upgrades to a fully operational 10GB network, alleviating its bandwidth bottleneck
  • Dec 2016, Jaguar Communications, the County’s primary fiber partner, completes its first city fiber overlay in Carver County in the City of NYA, which means it made fiber connectivity available to all addresses located within city limits
  • Oct 2018 CarverLink executes its first fiber collaboration with another non Carver County entity, Hennepin County
  • July 2020 Metronet acquires Jaguar Communications, CarverLink’s primary fiber network partner
  • Sept 2022 CarverLink completes ¾ million dollar project that completely replaces all CarverLink’s legacy network electronics and upgrades the network from a 10GB to a 25GB mesh fabric network.
  • June 2022 the County Board approves the largest expansion in history to the CarverLink network allocating $6.5 million for a $10.5 million project called Connect Up Carver that will build over 350 miles of fiber to over 2200 rural locations, with the fiber construction bid won by Metronet
  • March 2023 Metronet activates service to the first two customers from the CarverLink Connect Up Carver project which are in rural Hamburg, MN
  • Sept 2023 CarverLink completes construction of roughly 200 miles of the 350 miles of Connect Up Carver fiber build
  • Sept 2023 the County Board unanimously approves moving forward with the preliminary 2024 recommended budget which includes $2.5 million that would be utilized to expand the current Connect Up Carver project with a Connect Up Carver 2.0 project. This project and funding would essentially provide the County what it needs to become the first County in the State of MN to make available high speed bandwidth to all locations within the County that want it.

If you are interested in finding out more about the County’s broadband activities, which includes our ongoing $10.5 million, 350 mile Connect Up Carver fiber expansion, and many other programs and initiatives, visit the County’s newly updated CarverLink website at https://carverlink.com/broadband-efforts/.

Broadband rally cry at the Le Sueur County Fair

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I love a county fair. It’s great way to see what folks are interested in, what’s their point of pain and who I might see in the competitions at the State Fair next week. Today I was visiting the Le Sueur County Broadband Initiative booth at the Broadband rally cry at the Le Sueur County Fair. They were showing off their new Blandin Foundation-supported community coffee-ice cream truck, offering folks free coffee (and even better when it’s nearly 90 degrees iced coffee), and asking folks about their internet connection. (Thanks to Barbara Droher-Kline for the tour and the invitation!)

Lots of folks sought out the broadband booth. Others were lured in by the coffee. Typical was the family with three kids under five, saying the broadband was OK but they were going to need better soon. Especially since the pandemic shutdown, I think parents are acutely aware of the importance of broadband and education.

The Le Sueur County Broadband Initiative representatives asked folks to take speed test at home and explained their community-led challenge process. They are working with residents to report cases when what a provider reports to the FCC as their top speeds does not match with what the household at the location can actually get. They are concerned that overreporting by providers has led to the county seeming better served than they are and therefore in a position to lose out on federal funding to close the gap.

They also had some providers and other broadband-interested folks at the booth to answer questions and just see how things were going.

Now is a good time to get community members involved. Everyone has been talking about the $652 million in broadband funding coming to Minnesota. We’re at a stage where that final budget was announced. and the states are working on their initial proposals for the funding. After that there will be a time for public comments. Le Sueur County will be prepared to respond if they don’t like what they see because they will have information on where the maps may be problematic, and they will have feedback from residents.

Benton’s Visions of Digital Equity Principles

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The Benton Institute for Internet & Society has created visions of digital equity principles for States and other who are preparing (or at this point evaluating) digital equity plans…

  1. Digital equity is equity and cannot stand outside the broader work of ensuring that everyone has opportunities based on their needs. Without digital equity, communities will continue to face significant barriers in accessing opportunities and vital resources, thereby perpetuating existing inequalities and further widening the digital divide. Digital visions should articulate a commitment to remove barriers and empower the most vulnerable in our communities.
  2. Envision a state transformed by digital equity. Successful digital equity efforts result in healthier, more robust communities and more opportunity for all. Digital equity visions should illustrate how ubiquitous, affordable connectivity to reliable, high-speed broadband will benefit communities through increased access to health care, education and job training, economic growth, and civic participation.
  3. Devising digital equity visions must be an inclusive, collaborative, and ongoing process led by those most impacted by the digital divide, especially communities that have historically suffered from unequal access to broadband. A top-down approach to digital equity visioning, planning, and implementation will not succeed. Digital equity visions, strategies, and approaches, as well as the specific state digital equity plans, must be the result of collaborative exercises that directly engage communities in the planning process with government, broadband providers, philanthropies, and other organizations. These processes must value and center the perspectives of the people digital equity efforts are intended to serve. Without a seat at the table for community members, there can be no equity. This process is about building relationships and trust, authentically engaging the community and addressing any historical issues.
  4. Digital equity planning should include creating and sustaining healthy digital equity ecosystems. Digital inclusion coalitions often include libraries, community-based organizations, local governments, housing authorities, and others in communities across the country. These coalitions organize to cooperatively address equitable access to and use of communication technologies and play a key role in promoting and supporting healthy digital equity ecosystems. Since many of the underconnected face an array of barriers to adoption, relying on ecosystems makes sense to deliver comprehensive, holistic, wraparound services to address complex needs address complex needs.
  5. Advance and ensure digital safety, privacy, and well-being. Digital equity visions and efforts must center choice, privacy, safety, and digital health at their core, and must empower participants with the tools and skills needed to navigate risks and avoid harms associated with digital environments.
  6. Technology should open opportunities, not create or sustain barriers for people. Digital equity efforts should reduce and remove a full range of barriers through universal design (including multilingual availability) and inclusive access for those with disabilities, which benefits all people and society broadly.
  7. Digital equity efforts must bridge short-term impact and long-term, iterative, and sustainable efforts. Closing the digital divide will not be a one-shot effort; it will be a long-term commitment that should adjust to and reflect changing technology, policy, and circumstances and community needs. Sustained digital equity efforts require short- and long-term key performance indicators as well as periodic assessments of progress.
  8. Network resilience is crucial for ensuring equitable and reliable digital access, enabling sustained digital equity. Networks in all areas must be able to endure various threats to stability, including climate change, disasters, and similar future system stressors.
    • Ethical data collection, interpretation, and use that is adaptive and transparent, and that employs continuous learning practices as well as best practices for informed consent and limits to overcollection and unnecessary retention of data.
    • Shared power approaches such that historically and systemically marginalized groups can hold government and institutions accountable for equitable creation and implementation of the digital equity plans.
    • Going beyond quantitative measures to consider qualitative data and local data collection illustrated through storytelling.
  9. Achieving digital equity requires well-defined metrics for success along with sound measurements and evaluation.
  10. Digital equity visioning and planning requires clear accountability mechanisms and transparent reporting that is widely disseminated. Empowering community members in a transparent process will ensure that principles are adhered to and digital equity funds are spent wisely.

CNS maps out BEAD eligible areas

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CNS has created an interactive map to identify the level of broadband service is available throughout the country, with the goal of helping providers plan where they may want to apply for BEAD funding…

This data is derived from the FCC’s Dec. 2022 data collection. Data is shown at the smallest hex bin level made publicly available.

We’ve included 2 layers that look at the data in two different formats:

  • Hex bins that served, underserved, unserved for wireline only

  • Hex bins that served, underserved, unserved for wireline and licensed fixed wireless

The colors reflect the maximum-reported speed in that hex bin:

  • Green >=100 AND 20
  • Blue >=25 AND 3 but ,100 AND 20
  • Red <25 AND 3
  • Orange bins reflect bins that have at least one BSL, but no provider reported service there for the wireline and/or fixed licensed wireless tech codes

Location counts are estimates based on the total counts reported by a nationwide satellite provider.

By zooming in closely, you’ll see the location counts, the fastest speeds, and the name of the either the fastest provider in that bin (not all providers are shown if multiple providers report the same speed).

Is your community taking advantage of ACP? Benton has a tool to help figure that out?

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The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP)  provides 17 million households up to $30 per month in subsidies to offset the cost of broadband. In Minnesota, 193,678 have signed up. Benton Institute for Broadband & Society has created a tool to help determine whether that number is good or not, based on how many people qualify – down to the zip code level…

The Benton Institute’s ACP Performance Tool is a resource for any community that wants to answer the question: “How are ACP sign-ups going?” To answer, search a 5-digit zip code on the tool’s website. The ACP Performance Tool returns results that show two important numbers for the zip code area: 1) how many households have signed up for ACP (from government data) and 2) the expected number of households enrolled (the output from a statistical model discussed more below).

The difference between actual ACP enrollment and expected enrollment is a measure of performance. The tool places the zip code area into one of five performance categories:

  1. Highest: Where actual enrollments exceed expected enrollment by 40%
  2. High: Where actual enrollments are between 10% and 39% greater than expected
  3. Medium: Where actual enrollments fall between 9% and -9% of expectations
  4. Low: Where actual enrollments are between -10% and -39% of expectations
  5. Lowest: Where actual enrollments are below expected ones by 40% or less.

 

Three providers are seeking Border to Border grants in Douglas County (MN)

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The Echo Press reports…

Now that area is in an enviable position. Three internet providers are vying for state funding to provide residents with high-speed, top-notch fiber optic internet service. It’s unusual for three providers to target the same area of Douglas County.

Gardonville, Arvig-Tekstar, and Spectrum-Charter have all applied for grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which will dispense up to $67 million dollars in 2023, about triple what has been appropriated in previous years. The money is awarded through a program called the Border-to-Border grants. …

Each company has targeted an area with slightly different borders, but they all include the Emerald neighborhood as well as areas north along the Lake Carlos shore and along Highway 29. Only Perham-based Arvig includes the city of Carlos, while Gardonville, based in Brandon, would go further south, scooping in Laura Lake, the Nordic Hills Golf Course, the area adjacent to the Belle River State Wildlife Management Area and north to sections of Viking Trail and Fairfield Creek Road. Charter, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, would serve two areas west and east of Carlos.

Douglas County could use some help…

Douglas County is lagging much of the state in reaching broadband goals, according to the Grand Rapids-based Blandin Foundation, which ranks Douglas County 58th of 87 counties for broadband access. It says that 5,532 households in Douglas County do not have access to internet speeds of 100 megabits per second download and 20 megabits per second upload, and says it will cost about $51.4 million to extend that level of broadband to the entire county.

The most recent census data says that 92.9% of Douglas County households has a computer, and that 83.6% have a broadband internet connection, but it doesn’t specify the broadband speeds.

They have had good luck in getting grants in the past.

Martin County approves two ARPA broadband grants

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The Fairmont Sentinel reports…

The Martin County Economic Development Authority board held a meeting on Monday and approved two broadband development grants as well as measures which will provide event management training. The board also launched a new website.

The board approved two grant requests from its rural broadband development program. The first was submitted by Bevcomm and requested $71,879 which would fund 25 percent of $287,516 which would serve 128 households and 13 additional locations in the Granada area. The second project was a much larger project submitted by Federated REA which would connect much of rural Martin County.

Here’s a little bit more about the Martin County Broadband Partnership Project…

The board approved two grant requests from its rural broadband development program. The first was submitted by Bevcomm and requested $71,879 which would fund 25 percent of $287,516 which would serve 128 households and 13 additional locations in the Granada area. The second project was a much larger project submitted by Federated REA which would connect much of rural Martin County.

The funding for the project comes from ARPA funds.

Minnesota Recognizes importance of broadband mapping

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Telecompetitor writes about the less-than-perfect FCC maps…

Since its initial release last year, the FCC National Broadband Map has faced criticism from a variety of fronts, with complaints ranging from missing locations to doubts about the accuracy of the broadband availability data.

Most recently, a number of senators have proposed legislation to ‘fix’ the maps that would add 7 months to the challenge process for states and other parties.

They recognize Minnesota as one of the states that have taken on mapping…

In response, several states have created their own broadband availability maps to complement or improve upon the FCC’s data. Some examples of state maps include:

And it sounds like we’re ahead of the curve…

The upcoming phase of the BEAD timeline will force states to decide whether or not they will use the FCC’s national map or their own mapping data for distributing broadband funds -or a mix of both. This decision will have major implications for resource allocation and the effectiveness of broadband development in underserved communities.

Minnesota has done their own mapping for many years in part because the Border to Border grant eligibility has relied on the maps. The maps are not perfect, the data is supplied by the providers, tested by the mappers (more spot checked that thorough sweep) and I think the Office of Broadband Development does a good job following up with residents who challenge the map. Minnesota communities have also used crowdsourced maps created by Geo Partners, which is created by folks taking speed tests from their locations. In 2021, Blandin hosted an interesting conversation on mapping and speed tests with local experts: Glenn Fishbine (Geo Partners), Travis Carter (USI) Steve Howard (Paul Bunyan) and Diane Wells (Office of Broadband Development).

$80 million federal funds available to train workers to build and deploy infrastructure

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The US Department of Labor announces…

To maximize the impact of the Biden-Harris administration’s historic infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy investments, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of $80 million in funding through its Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program.

It sounds like this is funding to build the workforce to help deploy the infrastructure that federal funds will be buying over the next few years. It’s an opportunity to train workers and to build the workers we’ll need close to home. More info on the grants…

The grants will enable partners in the public and private sectors to develop or scale workforce training programs to prepare job seekers in advanced manufacturing; information technology; and professional, scientific, and technical service occupations that support renewable energy, transportation, and broadband infrastructure sectors. These include occupations in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors; broadband and transmission expansion; advanced manufacturing, including biomanufacturing; and electrical, industrial, and civil engineers and technicians who facilitate the design, construction, modernization, and maintenance of the nation’s infrastructure.

Nonprofits, labor organizations, public and state institutions of higher education, economic and workforce entities, and state, county and local governments may apply for grants ranging from $500,000 to $5 million. Applicants must choose one of the following tracks for this grant program:

  • Development track: Establishes local and regional partnerships that will implement new sector-based training programs across infrastructure-related sectors.

  • Scaling track: Expands an existing local or regional training partnership model, with demonstrated success in a specific infrastructure-related sector, to the state or national level.

With the Building Pathways to Infrastructure Jobs Grant Program, successful applicants will develop or scale strategies that provide the training and supportive services needed to build a talent pipeline for career pathways in infrastructure-related industries, with emphasis on programs serving people from rural or historically marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented communities. The funding will also support programs that align with the department’s Good Jobs Initiative and embed diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility into the project design.

Learn more about the funding opportunity announcement.

NTIA wants broadband permitting and continued low cost options from States

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Statescoop reports…

The NTIA is working with other federal agencies, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to streamline permit approval processes, but the agency is concerned that permitting at the state level could potentially be a “bigger issue,” Davidson said.

When states submit plans to the NTIA for how they plan to distribute their BEAD allocations, they will be required to include the steps they will take to ease their permitting processes, he said.

“It’s one of the homework assignments [that states will have to complete], and we’re going to take it pretty seriously,” he said.

As a steward for billions of dollars in federal funding to move the needle on broadband access and adoption, the NTIA “needs all hands on deck to make this work,” Davidson said.

He said the NTIA also wants to ensure that the Affordable Connectivity Program — a Federal Communications Commission program that subsidizes internet bills for low-income households — “continues to thrive.”

Census and NTIA unveil new broadband map – slick but only tracking to 25/3

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The Census reports on their slick new broadband map…

The U.S. Census Bureau, in partnership with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), today announced the launch of the ACCESS BROADBAND Dashboard. …

The dashboard includes a series of maps showing different broadband access measures, as well as economic characteristics that research suggests could be influenced by increased access to broadband. Maps display statistics on employment, small business establishments, wages and income, poverty, home values, population change and migration, educational attainment, and gross domestic product (GDP).

You can zoom into get data at the county level and the data will be updated annually. Here are items tracked:

  • Households with a broadband subscription:
  • Population with access to broadband services of at least 25/3 Mbps:
  • Employed:
  • Labor force participation:
  • Unemployed:
  • Annual change in employment:
  • Workers self-employed:
  • Workers that work from home:
  • Weekly wage:
  • Median household income:
  • Poverty (SAIPE):
  • Poverty (ACS):
  • Establishment entry rate:
  • Annual change in establishments with less than 20 employees:
  • Annual change in establishments with less than 500 employees:
  • Annual change in Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP):
  • Median home value:
  • Annual change in population:
  • Net migration rate (per 1,000 population):
  • Population with a bachelor’s degree or higher:
  • High school-aged population not enrolled, not a graduate:

It’s great to see the subscription rate. It’s frustrating to not see access to broadband at speeds of 100/20 or higher.

OPPORTUNITY: Broadband survey in Renville County

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This is an opportunity for folks who live in Renville County and a good example for counties that need better broadband. A survey is a good step to figuring out where you are in terms of how many people feel like they are well served and where you want to go in terms of who wants more and what they are doing with it. Renville County posts…

Much of Renville County is still under-served or unserved when it comes to broadband internet connectivity.  Renville County residents and businesses are invited to take this short Broadband Survey that will be open until March 31, 2023.  The more we know, the better positioned the county will be to partner with other entities to develop broadband solutions for our region.
Each household that completes the Renville County Broadband Internet Survey will be placed into a drawing to win a Renville County tourism prize package.
CLICK HERE to take the Broadband Survey.

Ribbon cutting in Hawick to celebrate ARPA funded broadband project (Kandiyohi)

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KWLM radio in Willmar reports…

The ribbon was cut Wednesday on another high-speed internet project in Kandiyohi County…

…Willmar and Kandiyohi County Economic Development Commission Director Aaron Backman says Hawick was able to use Federal ARPA funds for the project. Backman says The Kandiyohi County Board decided to use most of the ARPA funds for broadband projects, like the one they cut the ribbon on in Prinsburg earlier this month…

…The State of Minnesota this month announced 100 million dollars in Border to Border Broadband Grants, including a 4.9 million dollar grant to go toward a project that will be built by Federated Telephone starting this spring in Mamre, St. Johns, Arctander, Dovre and Lake Andrew Townships, which will provide or improve internet service to 640 homes, farms and businesses.