Former Blandin Broadband Community, White Earth Reservation has made the last push to get ubiquitous broadband coverage.  In 2017, Garden Valley received a $1.3 million loan from a MN Border to Border Broadband grant to serve Mahnomen County, including portions of White Earth Reservation. In November, 2019, AT&T announced the installation of a FirstNet (Public Safety) cell site near the Reservation. The site was built to help improve coverage along the eastern edge of the White Earth Reservation.

In August 2021, White Earth got a grant to provide a combination of broadband and fiber infrastructure, and fund other services that will help students connect to internet resources and thrive in remote learning environments.

In May 2023, awarded $500,000 as part of NTIA’s Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) mostly for community equipment and training.

In August 2021, Enbridge Energy donated $366,000 to the Waubun-Ogema-White Earth Community Schools to subsidize internet access for low income families.

Read more articles on White Earth.

The Upper Sioux has had ubiquitous broadband at speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 up; they now have ubiquitous coverage to faster speeds of 100/20.

In October 2024, the Institute for Local Self Reliance featured Fond du Lac and other MN tribals communities building broadband, reporting that the Upper Sioux Community finished building a fiber-to-the-home network to bring the Internet to the community in 2007. The project was completed in stages beginning in 2005 after the Tribe recognized the severe lack of reliable, high-speed Internet under an incumbent provider. The network is operated as USC Communications, which continues to offer Internet and other services to residents of the community.

Read more articles on Upper Sioux Community.

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has enjoyed ubiquitous broadband for several years now.

In October 2024, the Institute for Local Self Reliance featured Fond du Lac and other MN tribals communities building broadband reporting that the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community began planning a fiber-to-the-home network in 2013 and started building the network two years later. The network now provides FTTH services to every resident of the community. The Tribe has also been instrumental in supporting community broadband initiatives elsewhere, providing grants to other Tribes working on building Internet infrastructure and partnering with the surrounding county to support mutually beneficial fiber build-outs.

Read more articles on Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

Red Lake has had great broadband since we have been checking in. In 2010, Garden Valley received a $34 million loan from the USDA and in 2015 a $12 million loan from the USDA for fiber deployment. In August 2018, Garden Valley received a USDA loan for $20 million specifically to build more fiber.

In February 2023, Red Lake Reservation was awarded almost $2 million from the NTIA’s Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program. The project included upgrade on-site internet service and security, upgrade laptop and desktop computers, increased learning software options at RLNC and provided digital devices and broadband service plans for RLNC students to enable access on and off campus.

Throughout 2023, they hosted a number of events to encourage customers to sign up for ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program) federal subsidies to help offset costs for customers. Unfortunately, ACP was discontinued in 2024.

Read more articles on Red Lake. (That link includes article about Mille Lacs County as well.)

When last we checked, the Prairie Island Indian community had been stuck at 50 percent coverage since we have been checking. But about the same time, (October 2019), HBC announced FTTH access. HBC reported that every residence now has access to symmetrical Gigabit (1,000 megabits) broadband. 

Read more articles on Prairie Island. (There’s not much.)

Mille Lacs Reservation has seen steady progress toward ubiquitous broadband over the years.  In 2015, Mille Lacs County developed a broadband feasibility study that included a brief statement on connectivity on the reservation; they were focusing fiber on their casino, tribal headquarters and a few other businesses.

In April 2021, Mille Lacs Tribal Economy started working with the Blandin Foundation on a 15-week course of study and education about broadband for a community team.

In October 2021, the Tribal Economy received $6,670 from the Initiative Foundation for  a 12-month case study on broadband services and experiences among the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe districts.

In June 2022, they received $3.1 million in ARPA funding to boost entrepreneurialism. While not directly related to broadband access, it would boost broadband use.

In October 2024, the Institute for Local Self Reliance featured Fond du Lac and other MN tribals communities building broadband reporting that since 2021, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe had been exploring other options to bring better connectivity to the Reservation. A Tribally owned entity, Mille Lacs Corporate Venture, began a partnership that year with cooperative Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC). In 2023, the Tribe was awarded a Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program grant to help support the construction of a Tribally-owned fiber-to-the-home network that will be operated by CTC.

Read more articles on Mille Lacs. (That link includes articles about Mille Lacs County as well.)

Lower Sioux Indian Community has had good broadband since we started looking in 2019. They had ubiquitous coverage to 25 Mbps down and 3 up. The progress with faster access (100/2) broadband has been quick.

In April 2017, Mediacom announced that they upgraded their customers on the Lower Sioux Reservation to their Gig access.

In November 2022, they received almost $2 million as part of the NTIA Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program (TBCP) to directly connecting 47 unserved Native American households, 3 businesses, and 13 community anchor institutions with fiber to home qualifying broadband service at speeds up to 10 Gbps symmetrical.

In October 2024, the Institute for Local Self Reliance featured Fond du Lac and other MN tribals communities building broadband mentioning that the Tribe had partnered with a company to develop the project, but ownership over the network assets remains unclear.

Read more articles on Lower Sioux.

Former Blandin Broadband Community, Leech Lake Reservation has seen gradual progress toward ubiquitous broadband.

In December 2022, Leech Lake Band was awarded $18 million in federal funding to directly connect 4,399 unserved households. (Learn more.)

Throughout 2023, they hosted a number of events to encourage customers to sign up for ACP (Affordable Connectivity Program) federal subsidies to help offset costs for customers. Unfortunately, ACP was discontinued in 2024.

In October 2023, I had the opportunity to check out the Deer River/Leech Lake Community Teen Hub to see up close what an impact broadband has had in getting kids excited and engaged after school. Great to see broadband being used so creatively.

Read more articles on Leech Lake.

Grand Portage worked with Blandin Foundation as part of the MIRC (Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities) program in 2011. Grand Portage has worked on better broadband, with Cook County and others, through NESC middle mile project and the Arrowhead Electric Coop FTTH network.

Grand Portage has had excellent broadband coverage since 2019. I haven’t heard much about Grand Portage in recent years. A federal report in May 2024, noted that Grand Portage would benefit from the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program.

Read more articles on Grand Portage.

Former Blandin Broadband community, Fond du Lac Reservation, has been working on better broadband for 20 years. Their broadband deployment has been more gradual than some of the other tribal communities.

In March 2022, the Minnesota Broadband Task Force featured Fond du Lac in a monthly meeting. Tribal staff talked about how they approached broadband from all angles – they built demand, wrote grants, realized fiber was the answer and became a fiber broadband provider.

In April, 2023, Fond du Lac Communications, withdrew from their CAF II funding bid.

In October 2024, the Institute for Local Self Reliance featured Fond du Lac and other MN tribals communities building broadband mentioning that the build was supported by grants from the US Department of Agriculture’s Community Connect Program, Minnesota’s Border-to-Border broadband program, and HUD Indian Community Development Block Grants as well as a significant investment from the Tribal government. Network construction began in 2017 with the first subscribers coming online in 2019. The network currently serves about twelve hundred subscribers. (Some aspects surely built from their 2021 report on broadband in tribal areas.)

Read more articles on Fond du Lac.