Rank: 73
Code:  Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Watonwan County: hovering around 70 percent

Watonwan County ranks 73 for broadband access and out of 87 counties. They have 70.03 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1336 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $12.4 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Watonwan County has been hovering around 70 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since we began tracking. I don’t see any grants in the hopper or yet to be spent that could help them. They retain their red ranking.

Also they may also concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (68.15 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (99.74 percent). Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

Grants:

• 2017 – New Ulm Telecom, Inc. – Hanska A&D FTTP – GRANT $324,894
• 2016 – NEW ULM TELECOM, INC. HANSKA – GRANT: $ 200,397
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080

Find more articles on broadband in Watonwan County (http://tinyurl.com/jpnf6xv)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank:64
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Waseca County: stalled at 75 percent broadband access

Waseca County ranks 64 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 76.12 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1699 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $15.8 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Waseca County has been hovering around 75 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2018. I don’t see any grants in the hopper or yet to be spent. They retain their red ranking.

Also, they are also concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (75.4 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (98.56 percent). Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

Broadband Access:

Grant:

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: BEVCOMM (Cannon Valley Telecom, Inc.) – Rural Morristown Fiber Expansion Project – GRANT $210,692 This last mile project will serve approximately 14 unserved and 94 underserved locations in portions of Rice, Waseca, and Steele counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Waseca County (http://tinyurl.com/z845jwy)

Added: Jan 10 based on info from Waseca: Waseca County has teamed up with Bevcomm for a low density border-to-border grant request to OBD. It was submitted on time for this most recent round. All the County Commissioners and our County Administrator have been absolutely great to work with and are 100 percent on board with expanding broadband services to all of Waseca County.

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 71
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Wabasha County: still stalled at 71 percent access

Wabasha County ranks 71 for broadband access out of 87 counties with 71.92 percent coverage of broadband at speeds of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1735 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $16.1 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Wabasha County was stagnant at 66 percent coverage for several years; now they seem to be hovering around 72 degrees. Hiawatha Broadband has applied in to the latest (still open) round of Border to Border funding; results should be available in early 2024.

Wabasha County residents were awarded 97 line extension funding requests, which means state funding will subsidize last mile broadband extension to their homes.

With limited progress, Wabasha retains their red ranking.

Grants:

• 2012: $1 million in their ARPA funding on broadband
• 2016 – NEW ULM TELECOM, INC. MAZEPPA – GRANT: $ 317,761

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Goodhue West FTTP – GRANT $532,232 This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and two underserved locations in Goodhue, Zumbrota, Minneola, and Belle Creek townships in Goodhue County and Chester Township in Wabasha County.

Find more articles on broadband in Wabasha County (http://tinyurl.com/gpllcg8)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 85
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Todd County: on bottom 10 list for broadband

Todd County ranks 85 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 53.43 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 4929 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $45.8 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Working with the Blandin Foundation, Todd County has been focused on better broadband for a long time. They work hard but still rank at the bottom, demonstrating that even the hardest working counties need an engaged provider. That missing piece leaves them at code red, despite ongoing efforts.

Todd County residents were awarded 55 line extension funding requests, which means state funding will subsidize last mile broadband extension to their homes.

Broadband Access:

Grant:

• ReConnect funding through Upsala Cooperative Telephone Association in Morrison, Stearns and Todd counties.
• 2017 – WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Northern Todd County – GRANT $902,695
• 2014 – Arvig (Mainstreet Communications LLC), Sauk Lake area $
• 2019: WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Rural Staples Phase I Project – GRANT $555,355

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Arvig (Tekstar Communications, Inc.) – Lake Osakis, Sauk Lake & Smith Lake Project – GRANT $486,458 This middle and last mile project will upgrade approximately 230 unserved and 39 underserved locations in Todd and Douglas counties.

• Sytek Communications – Morrison/Todd/Stearns County FTTP Project – GRANT $1,048,668 This last mile project will bring service to 130 locations in Southwest Morrison, Southeastern Todd and Northeastern Stearns counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Todd County (http://tinyurl.com/gl47tgq)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 77
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Sibley County: still stuck at 65 percent coverage

Sibley County ranks 77 (down 3 points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 63.51 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 2204 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $20.4 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Sibley County has been working on better broadband for more than 10 years. They were a Blandin Broadband Community. But their connectivity has been stagnant since 2018. There hasn’t been a demonstration of recent engagement with broadband, which is why their code has gone from yellow to red.

Grants

• 2017 – Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Cornish Township FTTP Project – GRANT $365,895
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2014 – R-S Fiber Cooperative, FTTH Project – Award: $1 million.

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Winthrop Telephone Company, Inc. – Bismarck & Transit Township FTTP Project – GRANT $716,000 This last mile project will serve 148 unserved and six underserved locations, including homes, businesses and farms, in Bismarck, Transit and Round Grove townships in Sibley and McLeod counties

Find more articles on broadband in Sibley County (https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=sibley&submit=Search)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 45
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Rice County: Dropped from yellow to red ranking 

Rice County ranks 45 (down 13 points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 84.16 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 3316 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $30.8 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Rice County had a great leap of broadband in 2019; they have been stagnant since. Northfield Wifi has submitted an application for the latest (open) round of Border to Border funding. They will learn the results in early 2024.

Because they have been stagnant for so long, Rice County has dropped from yellow to red ranking

Grants:

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Webster Rural FTTP – GRANT $431,260 This last mile project will serve 103 unserved and 178 underserved locations in Wheatland and Webster townships in Rice County, Euraka and Greenvale townships in Dakota County, and New Market and Cedar Lake townships in Scott County.

• BEVCOMM (Cannon Valley Telecom, Inc.) – Rural Morristown Fiber Expansion Project – GRANT $210,692 This last mile project will serve approximately 14 unserved and 94 underserved locations in portions of Rice, Waseca, and Steele counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Rice County (http://tinyurl.com/jg6q8gs)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 70
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Renville County: Feels like being stuck

Renville County ranks 70 (down 3) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 72.23 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1818 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $16 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Renville County has been working on better broadband for more than 10 years, but they have stayed stagnant at 70 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2021.

They may be concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (70.18 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (96.42 percent). Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

In 2023, Renville set up a broadband survey for community members. Actions like that will help them prepare for federal (BEAD) funding once it is available. Unfortunately until they can engage provider activity, they retail their red ranking.

Broadband Access:

Grants:

• 2016 – RENVILLE COUNTY HBC & RS FIBER – GRANT: $807,966
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• 2014 – R-S Fiber Cooperative, FTTH Project – Award: $1 million.
• 2019: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Hutchinson W Project – GRANT $346,282
• 2019: Midco (Midcontinent Communications) – Renville Project – GRANT $230,835
• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Minnesota Valley Telephone Company (MVTC) – Rural Franklin Fiber Project – GRANT $226,800 This middle and last mile project will serve approximately 45 unserved locations in the City of Franklin and the townships of Sherman, Eden, Camp and Birch Cooley in Redwood, Renville and Brown counties.

Find more articles on broadband in Renville County (http://tinyurl.com/hfazdvf)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 86
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Pine County: working hard but not getting through

Pine County ranks 86 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 40.71 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 9076 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $84.4 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Pine County has been actively seeking better broadband for years; they were part of a Blandin Broadband Communities cohort a few years ago. Unfortunately, much of Pine County is served by one large national provider. That may be a bottleneck to better access in those areas due to the lack of competition can impact the drive for improvement.

In December 2022, East Central Energy received $4.8 million to serve approximately 2,082 households, 122 businesses, 329 farms and 2 community anchor institutions currently unserved and underserved in Pine and Kanabec Counties of Minnesota and $4.4 million to serve approximately 2,145 households and 136 businesses, 280 farms, and 2 community anchor institutions, currently unserved and underserved in Kanabec and Pine Counties. East Central Energy and SCI have applied for Border to Border funding in the latest (open round) of funding. They will now hear the results until early 2024.

Pine County residents were awarded 36 line extension funding requests, which means state funding will subsidize last mile broadband extension to their homes.

They are still code red, but that represents their barriers more than their hard work and perseverance.

Below was added Jan 5 with thanks to Lezlie Sauter for her help!!

On our profile page, we are missing some pretty large awards for broadband that have occurred in the past two years:

• In 2021, DEED awarded Pine County $2,787,734 of Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus funding to serve low and moderate-income areas with fiber to the premise which just started construction this past summer (2023). This project will serve 487 households by the end of 2024.
• Pine County also received a congressionally-directed spending award through USDA ReConnect, in 2022, in the amount of $5,576,250 to construct nearly 300 miles of fiber to 2,440 households. This one is still going through the environmental review process, but should start construction later this year (2024).
• We are working with SCI Broadband on both of these above projects.
• Additionally, we partnered with MidCo this fall to extend their service to a neighborhood using our ARPA funding. This reached just 6 households, but those 6 households would have never received service due to mapping errors.

Just wanted you to be aware since the ECE B2B award was the only one mentioned in the report. We still are at the bottom but we’ve really made some progress in the past couple of years. Between these two projects and ECE’s work, we believe a large percentage of our county will have coverage. We also continue to promote the Broadband Line Extension Program because we have heard from SCI Broadband and Midco that those applications really help them move into areas that were typically too difficult to serve, much faster and easier.

Past grants

• 2022: East Central Energy, $4,750,000.00 (serving Pine and Kanabec) (Learn more)
• 2022: East Central Energy – Kanabec Central – GRANT $4,403,000

• 2017 – SCI (Savage Communications Inc.) — Dell Grove Township Broadband Expansion – GRANT $118,248

Checklist:

• Find more articles on broadband in Pine County (http://tinyurl.com/ha8burg)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 83
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Norman County: recent progress but needs more

Norman County ranks 83 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have been hovering at 54.22 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1181 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $10.9 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Norman County has almost ubiquitous access to internet at speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 up, which means county commissioners and maybe even incumbent providers are not hearing of greater need because people have what they need for email and web browsing but increased access and better use may open doors for the community but they will eventually.

Their coverage to 100 Mbps down and 10 up has decreased slightly in the last year, which is prob ably due to map challenges or corrections.

They are code red.

Past grants:

• none

Find more articles on broadband in Norman County (http://tinyurl.com/zs7nuqj)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 62
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Nicollet County: stagnant since 2019

Nicollet County ranks 69 (down 9 points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 76.25 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 2690 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $25 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Nicollet County saw a nice leap in access in 2019 but have been stagnant at 78 percent or less coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. Their access decreased last year, likely due to increased granularity of reporting and are within an acceptable margin of error. There’s more decrease this year, perhaps reflective mapping challenges or corrections.

In December 2022, Nuvera Communications received $479,011 in Border to Border funding to serve 23 unserved and 68 underserved locations in the Nicollet County. In July 2023, Nicollet celebrating gig access through Fidium.

Nicollet’s ranking has dropped from yellow to red due to sustained stagnation.

Past grant:

• 2022: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – Nicollet County RTF DTF FTTP – GRANT $479,011 (Learn more)

• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile = Grant award: $808,080

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Nuvera Communications, Inc. – New Ulm HDT 202 FTTP – GRANT $444,386 This last mile project north of New Ulm will serve approximately 80 unserved and 67 underserved locations in Nicollet County.

Find more articles on broadband in Nicollet County (http://tinyurl.com/h3zwpbd)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 81
Code:  Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Murray County: getting state and local investment just need more

Murray County ranks 81 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They 55.9 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1946 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $18 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Murray County have hovered around 50 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since we started tracking. In 2018, with support from the Blandin Foundation, released a feasibility study that was not promising; it indicated that it is not economically feasible to build fiber everywhere. Subsequently, they are left looking at hybrid models, trying to convince the state to increase the 50 percent match or find another solution. Last summer (2022), the county committed $500,000 to support the broadband project that ended up receiving a border to border grant.

They may be concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (53.44 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (98.05 percent). Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

In December 2022, Woodstock Telephone was awarded $1.3 million to serve 201 unserved households, 29 unserved businesses, and 57 unserved farms as well as 16 underserved farms, 8 underserved businesses, and 58 underserved residences in Murray County.

Murray County holds onto its red ranking.

Past grants

• 2022: Woodstock Telephone Company – Lake Sarah Township FTTP – GRANT $1,333,199

• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
• Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company (Lismore Broadband) – Iona FTTP – GRANT  $219,714 This last mile and middle mile project will serve approximately 100 unserved locations including 75 households, nine businesses, 13 farms, and three community institutions within the town of Iona.

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Lismore Cooperative Telephone Company (Lismore Broadband) – Iona FTTP – GRANT  $219,714 This last mile and middle mile project will serve approximately 100 unserved locations including 75 households, nine businesses, 13 farms, and three community institutions within the town of Iona.

Find more articles on broadband in Murray County (http://tinyurl.com/j9sr5gf)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 75
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Mille Lacs County: new provider in the area might help

Mille Lacs County ranks 75 (down two point) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 68.72 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up in 2022. They have 3659 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $34 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Mille Lacs County was part of the Blandin Broadband Communities (BBC) initiative from 2012-2014. In November (2022), the Mille Lacs County Board of Commissioners met to hear about broadband options. The outgoing Economic Development Manager Mike Wimmer spoke optimistically of East Central Energy new entry to the broadband provider business.

In December 2022, SCI received $476,108 in Border to Border funding to serve 146 unserved households and 3 Businesses within areas of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Reservation and Northern Mille Lacs County, with Fiber to the Home and Benton got $1.1 million to serve 32 unserved households, 407 unserved business and farms, and 1 unserved township hall in Borgholm Township located in Mille Lacs County.

East Central Energy has applied for funding to serve Mille Lacs County in the latest (and open) round of Border to Border funding.

Mille Lacs is engaging with multiple broadband providers and that will stand them in good stand when federal (BEAD) funding becomes available. But for now they retain their red ranking.

Grants:

• 2022: Savage Communications Inc. (SCI) – Northern Mille Lacs County 2022: Broadband Expansion – GRANT $476,108
• Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Borgholm Township Project – GRANT $1,118,289 (Learn more)

• 2016 – BENTON COOPERATIVE TELEPHONE COMPANY BOCK – GRANT: $510,000
• 2019: Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase I – GRANT $936,759

• MN State Grants awarded in 2021: Savage Communications Inc. (SCI) – Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (Onamia) Broadband Expansion – GRANT $70,261 This last mile fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) project will serve 102 unserved households within the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Reservation in Mille Lacs County.

• Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase 2 Project – GRANT $338,011 This last mile project will serve 119 unserved locations in the Ramey telephone exchange located in portions of Lakin and Mount Morris townships in Morrison County and a small portion of Dailey and Page townships located in Mille Lacs County.

Find more articles on broadband in Mille Lacs County (http://tinyurl.com/h7wcdjj)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 34
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Lyon County: Incremental upgrades

Lyon County ranks 34 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 86.81 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1130 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $10.5 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Lyon has had incremental improvement in coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since we have been tracking statistics. In 2023, the Marshall Area Chamber of Commerce hosted an event to talk about broadband options with SDN.

ITC has applied for a grant in the latest (and still in-process) Border to Border grant round. But there haven’t been any successful grant applications and that is why they retain their red ranking.

They may be concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (79.68 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (99.81 percent). Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

Broadband Access:

Grants:

• Woodstock Telephone Company – Lynd FTTP – GRANT $325,548 (Lyon County) – This middle and last mile project will serve 203 underserved households, three underserved businesses and three underserved anchor institutions in the City of Lynd in Lyon County.
• 2017 – MVTC (Minnesota Valley Telephone Company, Inc.) – Milroy Broadband Project – GRANT $742,365
• 2017 – Woodstock Telephone Company – Balaton FTTP – GRANT $413,009
• 2016 – MIDCO CANBY TO MARSHALL MIDDLE MILE AND LAST MILE – GRANT AMOUNT: $623,000
• 2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080

Checklist:

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

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 53
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Lake of the Woods County: Big leap in last year

Lake of the Woods County ranks 53 (up six points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 78.82 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 696 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $6.5 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Lake of the Woods has been working on broadband for several years. They were a Blandin Broadband Community. In 2019, Wikstrom Telephone received a Border to Border award and they saw a big increase in access. In December 2022, Wikstrom received another award of $665,699 to serve rural sparsely populated areas in Kittson, Lake of the Woods, & Marshall in far NW Minnesota, passing 150 home, business, and farm locations.

Lake of the Woods continues to make incremental improvements but with limited engagement in the last few years and coverage hovering before 80 percent, they are not ranked as a red county.

Broadband Access:

Grants:

• 2022: Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc, $665,699.00 (to serve Beltrami, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall)
• 2016 – SJOBERG’S INC. ROSEAU AND LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTIES — GRANT: $354,740
• 2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
• 2019: Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526

Find more articles on broadband in Lake of the Woods County (http://tinyurl.com/gpfu7dd)

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.

Rank: 67
Code: Red
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Koochiching County: incremental increases

Koochiching County ranks 67 (down 4 points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 73.83 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 1818 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $16.9 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.

Koochiching County has been hovering around 73 percent coverage for a while now.  In 2023, Koochiching County was awarded a $77,300 Border to Border grant to serve 13 businesses along an established trucking route that is heavily used to connect Highway 53 and Highway 11 E through a partnership with Midco.

Hopefully that partnership will start a momentum toward improvement but at this point, Koochiching might need to see more demonstration of effort before losing the red ranking.

Grants

• 2023: Koochiching County – Koochiching County International Falls Economic Development – GRANT $77,300
• 2015 – Midcontinent Little Fork Middle Mile – Grant award: $277,448
• Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916

Checklist:

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

I am doing the annual look at broadband in each county – based on maps from the Office of Broadband Development and news gathered from the last year. I’m looking at progress toward the 2022 (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) and 2026 (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) and will code each:

• Red (yikes)
• Yellow (warning)
• Green (good shape)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on Oct 31, 2023. Red dots represent locations unserved with wireline broadband; the Orange dots represent underserved locations. The map on the right comes from the FCC National Broadband map showing access to wired and licensed fixed wireless access, the darker the color, the greater percentage of broadband coverage.