Rank: 14
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Carver County: CarverLink makes plans for 2024

Carver County’s rank bumps from 24 to 14 for broadband access out of 87 counties.

Carver County is lucky to have CarverLink, a publicly owned broadband fiber optics network that celebrated a 10-year anniversary in September 2023. But 10 years seems to be a golden age for the organization. They remain instrumental in brokering deals and using $2.5 million in County funds to construct an additional 80+ miles of rural fiber that will make fiber available to all remaining rural locations throughout the County that do not currently have access to fiber internet. (Access a full CarverNet report.)

With leadership from CarverLink, Carver County retains its green ranking.

• Over the years, Carver County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants. But CarverLink, Carver County’s publicly owned fiber optics network, has been instrumental in broadband in the community since inception
• Carver County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant award.
• Carver County will benefit from 9 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $27.5 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Carver ranked 2 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2013, Carver County received ARRA funding for Carverlink, a publicly owned 89-mile base ring with 33 miles of lateral lines. It was completed in Fall of 2013.

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

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your 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)

Rank: 11
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Big Stone County almost there

Big Stone County rank dipped from 6 to 11. The percentage coverage dipped slightly too, but the map seems more stringent this year. And the dip is slight. They are down to just a handful of households without broadband and that is why they maintain their green standing.

• Over the years, Big Stone County (or cities within) has not invested for matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Big Stone County will benefit from 2 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $65,000 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Big Stone ranked 63 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants:

• 2014 – Federated Telephone Cooperative, Big Stone County

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

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your 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: 16
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Benton County: so close after steady progress for years

Benton County’s rank bumps up to 16 from 20 for broadband after a nice climb from 25 last year. They hovered around 89 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019 but this year they broke through to almost 98 percent!

Benton County gets a green ranking because they are so close to the goal and seem to have built momentum to getting it done.

• Over the years, Benton County (or cities within) has invested $ 1,154,008 (total) for matches for 4 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Benton County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant.
• Benton County will not benefit from line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $7 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Benton ranked 30 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Broadband Access:

Past Grants:

• 2023:  Cooperative Telephone – Benton County South of Trunk Highway 23 – GRANT $2,988,275
• 2017 – Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Rice Ramey – GRANT $765,015
• 2017 – Palmer Wireless – Duelm Hwy 95 – GRANT $162,814
• 2014-CenturyLink Foley, Benton County–Balkan Township – Award: $382,883.
• 2020: Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase I – GRANT $936,759
• Benton Cooperative Telephone Company – Ramey Phase 2 Project – GRANT $338,011

Find more articles on broadband in Benton County (https://blandinonbroadband.org/?s=benton+county&submit=Search)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your 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)

Rank: 12
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Beltrami County well served thanks to Paul Bunyan

Beltrami County ranks 12 for broadband access; same as last year. They have hovered around 99 percent access to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2019. The effort to get ubiquitous broadband stems from local cooperative, Paul Bunyan Communications.

A recent report noted that Paul Bunyan’s investment has led to business growth. In Oct 2024, The Center on Rural Innovation looked at Paul Bunyan’s impact in the community: “…And based on Beltrami County’s steady business growth it seems Paul Bunyan Communications’ approach is paying off. Since 2010, the number of businesses in Beltrami County has grown by 12.1% (which amounts to an average annual increase of 1.1%), outperforming both the state and the country as a whole…”

• Over the years, Beltrami County (or cities within) has not invested for matches any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Beltrami County will not benefit from a recent MN Broadband grant.
• Beltrami County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $230,000 to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Beltrami ranked 40 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• They have an engaged cooperative provider and it seems likely that they should reach the goal of ubiquitous broadband. It’s worth noting that they rank number 4 for Gig access.

Past Grants:

• 2020: Paul Bunyan received a MN Border to Border grant to bring fiber to the Leach Lake Indian Reservation and the southeast Beltrami.

Find more articles on broadband in Beltrami County. (http://tinyurl.com/z5yvec6)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your county.)

You can see there are just a few locations in the southeast corner of the 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)

Rank: 20
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Anoka County Almost there – still

Anoka County coverage dips slightly and rank dips from 11 to 20 but they remain very close to covered.  They will benefit from a recently announced MN Broadband grant and that will help.

They have stayed constant with about 96 percent coverage of broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since 2017.  They have the advantage of being part of the 7-county metro area which doesn’t mean the county doesn’t have rural areas but proximity to urban areas helps build a market of user and closer deployment.

• Over the years, Anoka County (or cities within) has invested $164795 (total) for match for 1 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
• Anoka County will benefit from a 2024 $800,000 MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 237 locations (between Anoka and Chisago Counties.
• Anoka County will benefit from 20 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
• In Oct 2024, the County board approved up to $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the broadband.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $43 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
• In 2022, Anoka County worked with Blandin Foundation as an IRBC (Iron Range Broadband Community) and they were cohorts in Blandin’s inaugural Accelerate! program.
• In the past, a roadblock for Anoka was that the county is widely served by a national provider that had not been upgrading the connections in their area.
• In 2022, Anoka ranked 14 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
• Anoka received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant in 2013, which has helped serve government facilities.
• Anoka gets a green ranking because they are so close to goal. Anoka is part of the seven county metro area, which means the population density is much of the county makes it an attractive market for providers, but there are certainly rural parts to Anoka County as well.

Broadband Access:

2024 Grants:

• County: Anoka, Chisago
  Midco
  Midco North Central
  Grant: $801,700
  Local Match: $801,700
  Total Budget: $1,603,400
  Midco will build fiber to the premises (FTTP) plant to 237 eligible passings in portions of Anoka and Chisago counties. This project will extend reliable broadband service to 146 unserved and 79 underserved homes, and 8 unserved and 2 underserved business, and 2 unserved farms. Chisago County will contribute $149,000 and the City of Wyoming will contribute $5,000 toward the project. Midco provides services to about 493,000 customers, many of which live in rural Minnesota.

Previous Grants:

• 2023: Comcast-Xfinity – Comcast/City of Nowthen – GRANT $2,549,413
• 2022: Tekstar Communications Inc, dba Arvig, $219,727

• 2013: The County received federal (ARRA) funding in 2013. In partnership with Zayo, the County was able to build a 287-mile broadband network for government facilities.

Find more articles on broadband in Anoka County.(http://tinyurl.com/zuvt4x7)

The maps below on the left comes from the Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2024. Red dots represent locations unserved locations. Above I have tracked wireline access because that is the Minnesota definition of broadband. The info below includes wired and wireless. BEAD includes fixed wireless connections as served locations. (I wrote more on the distinction between the two last year, which may be if interest in the numbers range greatly for your 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)