When I looked at Clay County in 2014, they had about 82 percent broadband coverage (although broadband was defined at slower speeds); now they have 83 percent coverage with speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 74 percent at speeds of 100/20. In 2010, Clay County made the list of the 9 unserved counties in Minnesota based on the FCC Annual Broadband Report. (Again broadband was defined as lower speeds.)

So Clay County has made strides but to reach ubiquitous coverage they need to gear up for another push.

Clay County is in line to receive $440,804 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 663 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 Clay County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 83.15
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 74.13

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 Clay ranked:

DDI score of 23.6 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Clay County. (http://tinyurl.com/hcgg9rm)

• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 04
  House: 04A, 04B

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!

Chisago County is a Blandin Broadband Community. They are also in a competition with seven other communities for three prizes worth $3 million, $2 million and $1 million. Last year (May 2016) they held a broadband conference and revealed results of a broadband survey; among other things 94% would subscribe to better service if it were available.

Currently 65 percent of the county has access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) *and* 100/20. The good news for them is that the broadband they have is scalable and will be as valuable in the future as it is today. They challenge is that coverage is not ubiquitous. When I reported in 2014, the results were similar – a county of haves and have-nots.

Good news is that they were recently awarded a Minnesota Broadband grant. They have developed a partnership between the county and CenturyLink and will receive just over $1 million. The county is investing and CenturyLink is using their CAF 2 funding to invest in FTTH in parts of Sunrise Township served by CenturyLink….

Sunrise Township (CenturyLink), Fiber to the Home – $1.07 million. This project will serve 584 unserved households, 10 unserved businesses and 2 community anchor institutions in rural Sunrise Township in Chisago County. The CenturyLink project will improve business, education, health care and telecommuting opportunities in the area. The total eligible project cost is $2.39 million, with a $1.31 million local match.

It will be a good project to watch because it is an area where state funding is being used to encourage/require a CAF 2 recipient to upgrade their network to Minnesota standards, not federal standards, which are much lower at 10/1 speeds. In fact – as the description above details this project will bring fiber to the home. It could be a good model for other CAF 2 funded areas.

Chisago County is in line to receive $1,357,845 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 5,074 locations. Not all of it to be spent in the grant areas in Sunrise Township. Frontier is the other incumbent in this area; they are CAF 2 recipients as well and are not participating in the project. To get ubiquitous coverage, Chisago will have to work with or around Frontier.

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 Chisago County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 65.25
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 65.45

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 Chisago ranked:

DDI score of 32.18 out of 100.

More info:

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

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 32 & 39
  House: 32A, 32B, 39A

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!

Chippewa County is in a precarious position. In 2014, only 24 percent of the population had access to broadband. (Broadband was defined at a lower speed.) Currently 72 percent have access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up). So there has been a great deal of improvement but that improvement may feel fleeting in 2026 when the definition of broadband changes again to 100/20. Currently only 24 percent of the population have access to that speed. And on one hand these speeds are just numbers but they do correlate to activities you can do online. At 25/3 one person may be able to do most of what they want online – and speeds of 100/20 the whole family can do what they want. That matters as healthcare and homework move online and more people work from home.

Chippewa County is part of the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Council which has been focused on broadband improvements and was a Blandin Broadband Community. More recently, Chippewa is partnering with five other counties (Murray, Pipestone, Lyon, Yellow Medicine and Lincoln) to do a regional broadband study to determine the feasibility of bringing broadband service to unserved rural areas in the six counties.

Chippewa County is in line to receive $477,735 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 666 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 Chippewa County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 72.28
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 24.45

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 Chippewa ranked:

DDI score of 41.23 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Chippewa County. (http://tinyurl.com/htwz58a)

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

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!

Currently 66 percent of Cass County has access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up). That isn’t good but it’s better than it was and it seems like it will get better – through state funding.

In 2014, Cass County’s coverage was only 36 percent. But they were part of a Minnesota grant project through CTC (Consolidated Telephone Cooperative), which received $2 million to bring high-speed Internet to 247 unserved and 90 underserved premises in Cass, Crow Wing and Morrison counties. So 66 percent today is a sizable increase.

Just recently, TDS received state funding to invest in Cass (and Crow Wing) County…

TDS Telecom (TDS) announced last week it would receive $3 million in Minnesota Dept. of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) funds and invest another $3 million to expand and improve rural broadband services in parts of Crow Wing and Cass Counties.

Elaborating, TDS said it would expand broadband service and high-speed wireless Internet access to serve more than 3,400 unserved households and a variety of local organizations. Included among the latter are more than 60 businesses, 142 small enterprises, and a number of community “anchor” institutions. The project will impact residents and businesses in parts of Backus, Hackensack, Ideal Corners, Pequot Lakes, Pine River, and Woman Lake, according to a TDS press release.

We should see increases after that investment too.

Cass is in line to receive $310,616 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 795 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.

Cass County is part of Region 5 (the Resilient Region) which has been focused on broadband improvements and was a Blandin Broadband Community.

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 Cass County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 66.92
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 34.07

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 Cass ranked:

DDI score of 58.67 out of 100.

More info:

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

• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 05 & 09
  House: 05A, 05B, 09A

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!

Carver County received ARRA funds for a project that was completed in the fall of 2013. At that time the Star Tribune reported broadband coverage (different definition) in the county was 38 percent. Now it stands (despite higher bar for definition) at 98 percent for speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up). Government funding makes a difference. Carver County coverage for 2026 goals is 81 percent, which indicates that the network built in 2013 is scalable and a wise investment. But, they will need to continue to invest to reach ubiquitous coverage and upgrade to 2026 speed goals of 100/20.

Carver is in line to receive $1,184,151 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 2,715 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 Carver County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 98.51
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 54.04

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 Carver ranked:

DDI score of 11.69 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Carver County. (http://tinyurl.com/jxj9v9x)

• Districts: CD 3 & 6
  Senate: 33 & 47
  House: 33B, 47A, 47B

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!

Currently 74 percent of Carlton County has access to broadband at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up); however only 32 percent have access to speeds of 100/20, which in the Minnesota speed goal for 2026. They recognize they need a push to get up to speed.

Carlton County is part of a collaboration with neighboring counties (Carlton, Aitkin, Kanabec, Pine, Mille Laces) called the East Central Broadband Initiative. The region has been focused on getting better broadband for a number of years. In 2014, Carlton was named a Blandin Broadband community. They continue to work on efforts.

Recently they released a broadband feasibility study that outlines some of the issues…

Carlton County is in a challenging position. With its geographic proximity to the Duluth/Superior area, many businesses and residents find it hard to believe how drastically the level of speeds diminishes within such a short distance from these population centers.” Broadband is, relatively speaking, good along the Interstate 35 corridor and the associated urban areas. Outside the city limits, broadband service suffers in most of the rest of the county where there is a lower population density.

CenturyLink and Frontier cover the rural areas and are upgrading their services in some areas with state and federal funding. Existing phone lines provide the broadband access but limit the signal available to 10 MB download and 1 MB upload – not meeting the state goal.

Without a change in technology development, two options are open for broadband service in rural areas. 1) A total rebuild of broadband delivery to every household and business  in the county, urban and rural, would cost about $70 million, of which $40 million would come from federal and state grant funding. 2) A plan to connect all households and businesses in rural areas of the county would cost about $46 million, with a $30 million grant and $13 million organized locally.

Carlton is in line to receive $2,197,685 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 5,060 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 Carlton County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 62.74
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 52.32

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 Carlton ranked:

DDI score of 41.99 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Carlton County. (http://tinyurl.com/z4me5k4)

• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 11
  House: 11A

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!

When I looked in 2014, Brown was about 90 percent covered. (Definition of broadband was slower speed.) In 2016, we see they are gaining ground. There is 92 percent coverage for speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up) and 89 percent coverage for speeds of 100/20. The anchor community in the county is New Ulm.

New Ulm Telecom has received $200,397 toward a project that will serve 14 unserved households and 32 unserved businesses in Lake Hanska Township in Brown County and Riverdale Township in Watonwan County. New Ulm Telephone will improve service levels in an area populated with farms and home-based businesses.

Brown County is close to Renville and Sibley Counties, which have made a big (successful) push for broadband. State funded projects have happened around them in Redwood and Wantonwan Counties. As New Ulm Telecom comes from one direction, perhaps these other counties can reach in from the other.

Also Brown County is in line to receive $95,995 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 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 Brown County ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 92
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 89

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 Blue Earth ranked:

DDI score of 43.79 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Brown County. (http://tinyurl.com/z2wwkye)

• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 16
  House: 16B

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!

Blue Earth’s numbers today are not terrible, They rank 29 out of 87. The percentage of the population with access to 25/3 (Mbps down/up) speeds is almost 90 percent. But the percentage of access to 100/20 – the speed goal for 2026 is 55 percent. Looking back at the coverage they had in 2014, the situation remains the same  coverage around Mankato meets the speed goals for today but outside the city, the coverage doesn’t even hit 25/3 standards.

Blue Earth has not received State grants. They were not part of an ARRA project. They are in line for $2,422,876 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 3,934 locations. That is quite a bit of money. 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 Blue Earth ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 35
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 60

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 Blue Earth ranked:

DDI score of 26.72 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Big Stone County. (http://tinyurl.com/j5pe9kr)

• Districts: CD 1
  Senate:
  House: 19A, 19B, 23B, 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!

Big Stone County has the same percentage of coverage regardless of speed gauged – 25/3 (Mbps down/up) or 100/20. So while they don’t have ubiquitous coverage (they are holding at 70 percent), they are building broadband (FTTH) that will deliver now and in the future.

In 2015, Federated Telephone Cooperative received a Border to Border Broadband grant of $3.92 million to construct broadband infrastructure to make service available to 1,072 unserved premises.

Big Stone is slated to receive very little CAF 2 funding – $6,265 to upgrade 41 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.

Big Stone is also working digital inclusion. They are part of the UMVRDC (Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission), which is a Blandin Broadband Community working on increasing broadband adoption in the area on projects such as social media marketing movement: Quietly beautiful, wildly connected.

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 Big Stone ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 70.12
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 70.12

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 Big Stone ranked:

DDI score of 48.32 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Big Stone County. (http://tinyurl.com/zfgwstd)
• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 12
  House: 12A

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!

Benton County has been actively seeking to improve broadband for many years. They were part of the ARRA-funded, Blandin-led Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities project; it sought to increase broadband adoption. In 2015, CenturyLink was awarded $382,883 to build broadband infrastructure to serve 162 unserved households in Foley, Benton County and Balkan Township (near Chisholm in St. Louis County).

When I looked at Counties in 2015, Benton was one of the counties where there was a big discrepancy between wired and wireless access. Without including mobile access, broadband reached only 63 percent of the households; with wireless it has 93 percent coverage. (Definition of broadband was slower in 2015.)

As I said then, as a resident, I suspect that mobile access is a double-edged sword. Mobile access is better than nothing but on a practical basis, the data caps can get quite expensive, especially if you are using a mobile connection as a primary business or family connection. And wireless access does not stand them in good stand preparing for 100/20 (Mbps down/up) access since wireless doesn’t meet those speeds.

Another double edged sword is CAF 2 funding. Benton County is slated to receive $730,856 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 1,516 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 Beltrami ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 87.61
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 14.28

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 Beltrami ranked:

DDI score of 31.05 out of 100. So Benton is in a better position than the Minnesota average.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Benton County. (http://tinyurl.com/zuk3zeg)  
• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 6
  Senate: 13, 14, 15
  House: 13B, 14B, 15B

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!

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 their GigaZone FTTH service.

The Fertile Beltrami School District recently received $41,922 to allow them to equip buses with wireless hotspots, enabling students to complete homework while commuting.

Beltrami qualifies for $582,788 in CAF 2 funding to upgrade 1,730 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. However, it seems likely that anyone making upgrades would consider the service available through competitors Paul Bunyan.

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 Beltrami ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 99.36
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 96.35

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 Beltrami ranked:

DDI score of 36.98 out of 100. So Beltrami is in a better position than the Minnesota average.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Beltrami County. (http://tinyurl.com/z5yvec6)
• Districts: CD 7 & 8
  Senate: 2, 5
  House: 02A, 05A

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!

Becker County Ranks in the bottom half (#58) of the counties for broadband coverage at speeds of 25/3 (Mbps down/up). Looking at access at 100/20, less than 7 percent of the county has access.

Their ranking has not changed much since 2014 reports – nor has the percentage covered.

Good news is that Paul Bunyan Communications has received $1.74 million in Border to Border State broadband funding for a project that extends to Hubbard, Becker and Itasca Counties. The project will serve 785 unserved households, 26 unserved businesses, two unserved community anchor institutions, 143 underserved households and two underserved businesses in north central Minnesota. Paul Bunyan will improve service levels to an estimated 2,750 people and nearly 50 small businesses.

Will that be enough to catch them up to the 25/3 goal and set them up to succeed with the 100/20 goal? With FTTH it will be for those areas upgraded. Becker is also in line to receive $821,889 in CAF 2 funding to cover 2,341 locations. CAF 2 funding only requires upgrades to 10/1 service; so there’s no guarantee that those locations will be as prepared for the 100/20 goal.

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 Becker ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 69.41
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 6.58

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 Becker ranked:

Becker has a DDI score of 61.07 out of 100 – which puts them below average.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Becker County. (http://tinyurl.com/jkah37b)
• Districts: CD 7
  Senate: 02, 04
  House: 2B

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!

Aitkin County ranks at the bottom for broadband access; unfortunately, it’s a position they have held for several years. The community is active and wants better broadband; legislators (Rep Thissen and Sen Schmit) have visited the area to talk about broadband.

The local cooperative did a feasibility study and found that it would cost $65 million to get FFTH in the service area.

Mille Lacs Energy Cooperative recently received a Border to Border Broadband grant from the State for a project will serve 763 unserved households, 2 unserved businesses, 2 unserved community anchor institutions, 31 underserved households, and 2 underserved businesses in Aitkin County.

Aitkin is on the short list to receive $3,388,534 for upgrades via CAF 2 (Connect American Funds) but CAF 2 only requires 10/1 (Mbps down/up) access. Perhaps they can incent incumbent providers to make improvements beyond that 10/1 requirement.

Previously through the Blandin Broadband Community (BBC) program and now through the Iron Range Broadband Community (IRBC) program, they are holding community meetings about broadband and working on local projects to spur better use of broadband. But as the map indicates, most of the county is pink, which means unserved. (They do not have access to broadband at speeds at 25/3.)

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 Aitkin ranked:

• Percentage served with 25/3 or better: 27.48
• Percentage served with 100/20 or better: 11.51

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 Aitkin ranked:

Ranked last – with a DDI score of 68.43 out of 100.

More info:

• Find more articles on broadband in Aitkin County. (http://tinyurl.com/hdqdmhr)
• There is a matrix of Minnesota broadband adoption projects; it includes projects from this area.
• Districts: CD 8
  Senate: 10
  House: 10B

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!