In 2010, the FCC listed Mahnomen County as one of the nine least served counties in Minnesota. In 2014, 55 percent of Mahnomen had access. (Although broadband was defined with lower speeds.) Today 71 percent of the county has access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up). So they are catching up, unfortunately as they catch up to today’s speed the speeds get faster. Only 13 percent of Mahnomen has access to broadband speeds of 100/20, which is the 2026 speed goals for Minnesota.

Mahnomen County is  in line to receive $293,759 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 599 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 71.95
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 13.03

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 66.72 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Mahnomen County (http://tinyurl.com/hnlovzh)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 02
  House: 02B

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

In 2014, less than 5 percent of Lyon County had access to broadband! They have come a long way with 72 percent having access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) today. But they are poised to be in same shoes they were in 2014 with zero percent access to broadband at speeds of 100/20, which is the state goal for 2026.

There is good news for part of Lyon County; in the last round of Border to Border broadband grants. Midco received $623,000 to  serve 1,029 unserved households, 29 unserved businesses and 11 unserved community institutions in the communities of Porter, Taunton, Minneota, Ghent and Canby in Yellow Medicine and Lyon counties. Midco will improve service levels for 100 percent of the homes and businesses in those areas.

Lyon is an example of the need to keep up with changing definition of broadband, either through incremental upgrades or by focusing on long term solutions; Lyon seems to be moving in that direction. Lyon is partnering with five other counties (Murray, Pipestone, Lincoln, Yellow Medicine and Chippewa) to do a regional broadband study to determine the feasibility of bringing broadband service to unserved rural areas in the six counties.

Lyon County is also in line to receive $1,341,020 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 1,699 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 72.37
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 0

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 32.67 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Lyon County (http://tinyurl.com/hzlzzvs)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 16, 22
  House: 16A, 22A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Just over half (57 percent) of Lincoln County has access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and only 40 percent have access to speeds of 100/20, which is the Minnesota speed goal for 2026. In 2014, Lincoln’s broadband coverage was only 40 percent coverage. (The definition of broadband was slower back then.) Depending on which number you focus on – they have seen some improvement – probably in large part to a Border to Border grant in 2014 for $700,00 to Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative (ITC) to improve access in Hendricks for 377 households and farms, 57 businesses, three home-based businesses and eight community anchor institutions.

It’s clear that as the definition of broadband changes a county needs to keep up, either through incremental upgrades or by focusing on long term solutions, which is what Lincoln seems to be doing. In 2016, Lincoln began a concerted push for better broadband when County Commissioners heard from Vince Robinson on the importance of fiber and focusing on improvement for underserved and as well unserved communities. More recently, Lincoln is partnering with five other counties (Murray, Pipestone, Lyon, Yellow Medicine and Chippewa) to do a regional broadband study to determine the feasibility of bringing broadband service to unserved rural areas in the six counties.

Lincoln County is also in line to receive $390,651 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 401 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 57.27
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 40.40

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 49.36 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Lincoln County (http://tinyurl.com/jxqwlab)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 22
  House: 22A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Le Sueur is well served with 90 percent having access to broadband speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 83 percent having access to 100/20. And their situation may get even better.

Eckles Telephone will receive $188,000 to serve 51 unserved households, seven unserved businesses, 40 underserved households, and four underserved businesses in the rural Heidelberg area. Once residents and business owners have their copper internet cables switched to fiber, they will have a choice of four different speeds, ranging from 30 megabytes to 1 gigabyte. A few years ago, Le Sueur (like many counties) was fairly well served in cities and towns and much less served between towns, but it looks like these gaps are getting filled.

Le Sueur County is also in line to receive $1,579,260 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 2,859 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 39
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 78

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 32.25 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Le Sueur County (http://tinyurl.com/jbg7ghy)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects.
• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 19, 20, 23
  House: 19A, 20A, 20B, 23B

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Half of Lake of the Woods County has access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) . No one has access at the 2026 speed goals of 100/20. In 2014, they had 47 percent coverage.

The good news is that Lake of the Woods will benefit from two recent Border to Border projects:

Sjoberg’s will receive $354,740 to serve 126 unserved households, 30 unserved businesses and one community anchor institution in several areas of Roseau and Lake of the Woods counties.

Wikstrom Telephone will receive $950,823 to serve 236 unserved households and 26 unserved businesses in sparsely populated areas of Kittson, Marshall, Roseau and Lake of the Woods counties.

Lake of the Woods County is also in line to receive $424,315 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 950 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Lake of the Woods was a Blandin Broadband Community. They worked on projects to boost broadband use by businesses and residents.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 61
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 0

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 50.61 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Lake of the Woods County (http://tinyurl.com/gpfu7dd)
• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 02
  House: 02A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Lake County is well served at 94 percent access to 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 100/20 broadband speeds due in large part to an ARRA grant for a project that gave birth to Lake Communications, a homegrown FTTH provider. In November 2016, Lake Communications began working with Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC) to prime them to take over operations and management of the county’s broadband project, Lake Connections.

Lake County is also in line to receive $792 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 3 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Lake County was a Blandin Broadband Community with projects such as their (High School) Seniors teaching Seniors program that was the start of many fine friendships.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how Lake County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 94.32
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better:  94.32

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 50.35 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Lake County (http://tinyurl.com/j7pu3le)
•  There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.

• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 03
  House: 03A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Lac qui Parle (LqP) County is well served due in large part to an ARRA grant and partnership between the County and Federated Telephone.

LqP County is unlike most counties in that the county seat (Madison) is not as well served as the rest of the county. To be eligible for the ARRA funding, planners had to remove Madison from the plan because at the time connectivity in the town was fast enough to be considered served. They are an example of the leapfrogging that can happen when portions of a county (or region) are not upgraded because they are considered served or underserved while other parts are upgraded to a higher standard. Madison is investigating and campaigning to get better broadband to compete with their neighbors.

LqP County is in line to receive $14,003 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 25 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

LqP has been a Blandin Broadband Community through partnership with Lac qui Parle Valley school district. They have also worked with Blandin to help with planning, a feasibility study and boost adoption with programs such as the Computer Commuter, a refurbished van turned into a traveling computer lab that travels throughout the county weekly.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how LqP County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 99.36
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 99.36

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 39.08 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Lac qui Parle. (http://tinyurl.com/zc2tfay)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 16
  House: 16A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Koochiching County’s coverage is 68 percent at speeds of 25/3 and 100/20 (Mbps down/up) . The access they have is good, they just need more of it. In 2014, coverage was 74 percent but broadband was defined at a slower speed.

In 2015, Mediacom received $$27,448 to build out broadband middle-mile infrastructure between Little Fork and International Falls. The project was designed to bring high-speed service to 258 Internet users. Koochiching is served in part by Paul Bunyan. So upgrades in their GigaZone service will help but only in areas they serve.

Koochiching County is also in line to receive $950,823  in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 1,829  locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 68.60
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 68.55

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 51.79 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Koochiching. (http://tinyurl.com/gom8mqy)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 03
  House: 03A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Kittson County is almost entirely underserved and largely unserved; only 65 percent have access to speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and only 3 percent have access to 100/20, which is the speed goal for 2026. Kittson saw some improvements through an ARRA funded project (through Wikstrom Telephone) and again through Wikstrom when they were recipients of an early Border to Border grant – but that grant was only going to upgrade 15 premises. It doesn’t sound like a lot of homes but the population in Kittson is only 1,986.

The good news is that Kittson will see upgrades with the latest round of Border to Border grants. Wikstrom Telephone will receive $950,823  to serve 236 unserved households and 26 unserved businesses in sparsely populated areas of Kittson, Marshall, Roseau and Lake of the Woods counties.

Kittson County is also in line to receive $$126,244 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 201 locations. CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 65.62
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 3.46

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 54.70 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Kandiyohi. (http://tinyurl.com/z9wk7bm)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 01
  House: 01A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Kandiyohi is a county that is largely underserved. Coverage at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) is 77 percent but only 8 percent have access to speeds of 100/20, which is the speed goal for 2026. They have made huge strides since 2014, when coverage (albeit for a slower definition of broadband) was 14 percent. They need to upgrade their connectivity and continue to expand it.

The good news is that Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC) was awarded a $4.94 million grant to improve serves in New London, Spicer and Willmar and Frontier was awarded a grant of $1.02 million to improve service in rural Kandiyohi County.

Kandiyohi County is also in line to receive $1,382,302 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 2,060 locations. Representative Baker was pleased to announce the investment. Unfortunately, CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Kandiyohi was Blandin Broadband Community, which means they had support building broadband adoption. One project was a number of public wireless hotspot locations in the county. They have a broadband committee that have spearheaded a feasibility study and encouraged visits from policymakers, such as Lt Governor Tina Smith.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how they ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 77.25
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 8.14

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how they ranked:

DDI score of 37.18 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Kandiyohi. (http://tinyurl.com/z9wk7bm)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 17
  House: 17A, 17B

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

A third of Kanabec County has access to broadband; actually 34 percent have access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 26 percent have access to 100/20, the 2026 Minnesota speed goals. That service is about the same reported in 2014, when it was 28 percent coverage, albeit back them broadband was defined at a slower speed.

Kanabec is a Blandin Broadband Community. There is a Kanabec Broadband Initiative. They have been part of the East Central Regional Broadband Group.

In December 2016, the Kanabec County Times outlined some of the options and proposed options in the county. Here are the highlights:

Midcontinent Communications advertises up to 200 Mbps down / 20 Mbps up, but not outside the city limits of Mora and Ogilvie right now. Midco says it will launch Gigabit service sometime in 2017. Great news for those areas.

CenturyLink is making upgrades. (Kanabec County is in line to receive $2,057,245 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 4,966 locations. ) Based on the article, it sounds like CenturyLink may be talking about fiber to the node – not to the premise…

“That’s Century Link’s new fiber-optic installation, one of the main technological ingredients that will allow homes to experience a more reasonable connection. Then again, you have to define the words reasonable and fast. Century Link will offer speeds of “at least 10 Mbps (megabits per second) download and 1 Mbps upload to locations in FCC-designated, high-cost census blocks.” While that bandwidth will be a huge improvement for those with no wired internet options, it’s still below the FCC’s definition of broadband which is 25Mbps download / 3Mbps upload.”

For the rest of Kanabec County, internet options are limited to the choice of one cable provider or satellite. On the outskirts of Ogilvie, for instance, some homes are nowhere near cable connections, leaving residents with expensive options. One satellite provider locally offers up to 12 Mbps download speed for $150/month. Plus there’s inherent latency (delay) with satellite. Customers in these underserved areas may also spend $100-$200 a month on cell phone data to operate from a hot spot.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how Kanabec County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 34.04
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 26.07

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how Kanabec ranked:

DDI score of 55.30 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Kanabec County. (http://tinyurl.com/gvyes6n)
• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 11, 15
  House: 11B, 15A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

In 2014, Itasca’s broadband coverage was 55 percent. Now it is 79 percent for access to 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 76 percentage to 100/20. They are building broadband for the long haul they just need to expand coverage. They are making great strides with Paul Bunyan Communications, a local cooperative provider based in Bemidji that has been expanding their GigaZone access throughout the region.

Itasca County will get help with broadband coverage with a Minnesota Broadband grant; Paul Bunyan Communications to begin expansion construction this spring that will pass a minimum of 1,030 locations in portions of Arbo Township, Balsam Township, Lawrence Township, and Nashwauk Township in Itasca County, portions of Straight River Township in Hubbard County, and portions of Osage Township and Green Valley Township in Becker County.  The project is estimated to cost $3.9 million, with Paul Bunyan Communications contributing $2.16 million, $1.74 million from the State of Minnesota Border to Border Grant, and Itasca County contributing up to $75,000 towards the Itasca County portion of the project.

Itasca is the home county of the Blandin Foundation. They have been part of broadband adoption efforts for many years. Most recently the Itasca County BBC initiative highlighted many of their efforts to get businesses online and using social media to promote themselves and the community. Connect Itasca has been working to build a better business case for broadband deployment in the area by using a tool that helps with market research and development.

Itasca County is also in line to receive $2,487,709 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 6,101 locations. Unfortunately CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how Itasca County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 78.92
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 76.35

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how Itasca ranked:

DDI score of 43.24 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Itasca County. (http://tinyurl.com/grujo6t)
• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 5, 6
  House: 5A, 5B, 6A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

Jackson is a county of haves and have-nots. Broadband coverage is 69 percent for speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 100/20. So those 69 percent are in good shape now and for the 2026 speed goals. But the remaining 31 percent are unserved. And 31 percent has been unserved since I last looked in 2014.

Jackson was part of an ARRA-funded project that brought FTTH to a portion of the county. And they were a Blandin Broadband Community. So they have been working on better broadband.

Given that the numbers are the same – I suspect the situation is the same I found in 2014 and show in the 2014 map below. Fiber is deployed (in orange) and wireless is available (in green) based on where the fiber exists. There are pockets of DSL. (Looks remarkably similar to the 2016 map above.)

Jackson County is in line to receive $2,448,189 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 1,908 locations. Unfortunately CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how Jackson County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 68.90
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 68.90

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how Jackson ranked:

DDI score of 45.71out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Jackson County. (http://tinyurl.com/h3vyqx9)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 22 & 23
  House: 22B, 23A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!

In 2014, Hubbard County’s broadband coverage was 76 percent. Broadband coverage has increased to 87 percent at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 46 percent at speeds of 100/20.

Paul Bunyan has been upgrading service in the county; in March 2015, they upgraded in the Park Rapids, making GigaZone services  available to over 2,700 locations. The good news about the Giazone is that it exceeds the 100/20 speed goal for 2026.

Hubbard County will get help improving broadband coverage with a Minnesota Broadband grant; Paul Bunyan Communications will begin construction this spring that will pass a minimum of 1,030 locations in portions of Arbo Township, Balsam Township, Lawrence Township, and Nashwauk Township in Itasca County, portions of Straight River Township in Hubbard County, and portions of Osage Township and Green Valley Township in Becker County.  The project is estimated to cost $3.9 million, with Paul Bunyan Communications contributing $2.16 million, $1.74 million from the State of Minnesota Border to Border Grant, and Itasca County contributing up to $75,000 towards the Itasca County portion of the project.

It’s worth noting that Hubbard;s DDI score is high, which means not great. So they would benefit from some broadband adoption programs.

Houston County is also in line to receive $913,117 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 2,857 locations. Unfortunately CAF 2 recipients are only required to upgrade to 10/1 access. Many may choose to upgrade to better speeds but there are no requirements.

Numbers:

The Office of Broadband Development released data on broadband covered in fall of 2016, based on information gathered in July 2016. Here’s how Hubbard County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 87.42
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 46.43

Mississippi State University Extension have come up with a ranking system to gauge the digital divide index (DDI) by county. (The lower the number the better – the state average is 40.66.) Here’s how Hubbard ranked:

DDI score of 50.73 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Hubbard County. (http://tinyurl.com/hy7et5e)
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 02 & 05
  House: 2B, 5A

I plan to profile each county in Minnesota – tracking broadband access, digital divide and annotated links to news of what’s happening with broadband in the county. I’m keeping it high level because there are 87 counties!