Rank:22
Code: Green
(See Blandin Foundation interactive map)

Washington County: nearly there with a grant in process

Washington County’s broadband coverage tracking has bounced around in the last three years but it seems to be back on track. (I’m sure the bouncing is more about the mapping that the coverage.) They are close to goal so they retain their Green status. Also, they should get some increased coverage from BEAD awards.

At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 2,390 locations in Washington County. However, Some locations will get others; others will get a satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.

There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of  houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Washington has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.)

Statewide, there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.

Broadband Access:

Possible BEAD support

The Minnesota BEAD Final Proposal has not yet been approved so the information below is subject to change; it includes the number of locations by county specifying provider and broadband type. (Learn more.)

Locations in Washington: 2,390
The locations include a mix of fiber as well as cable, satellite and fixed wireless connections.

Local Government Match for State Broadband Grants:

Over the years, many local governments (County, Municipal, Tribal) have invested in broadband deployment. This year, I have tracked how much local investment has been used to match MN State Grants. Local governments invest in other ways too, but this was one number I could realistically find and quantify investment by county, which means investment in that county, whether by county, cities or other local government entity.

In Washington $375,085 was invested in three projects over the years.

New Posts from 2025:

• Washington County providers received $680,789 in the first three rounds of Line Extension awards

• Gateway Fiber will deploy fiber to Cottage Grove (Washington County)

Highlights from Past Reports

• 2023 estimates indicated that it would cost $22.4 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, Washington ranked 4 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.

Past Grants

• County: Washington, Chisago – Midco Midco Scandia
  Grant: $689,700, Local Match: $689,700, Total Budget: $1,379,400
• 2023: Midco – Midco May Township – GRANT $1,580,300

• 2022: Midcontinent Communications, $975,131

• 2019: Midco (Midcontinent Communications) – Scandia Project – GRANT $510,358

• MN State Grant awarded in 2021: Midco (Midcontinent Communications) – Scandia – GRANT $78,824 This last mile project will serve 78 underserved households and one underserved business in remote neighborhoods of Scandia in Washington County.

Find more articles on broadband in Washington County (http://tinyurl.com/z4dwzyy)

The maps below come from the 

• Office of Broadband Development interactive map, reflecting data updated on December 16, 2025 – tracking wireline access.
• The FCC National Broadband Maps, reflecting data updated November 28, 2025 – tracking fixed wireless access.

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)

In preparation for the 2025 County Broadband Profiles, I’m looking at the county ranking for broadband access. I am looking at STATE and NATIONAL data. (Read more about why.)

Below is information from the Minnesota maps. There are three posts looking at:

• Access to 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up
• Access to 100/20
• Access to 1000/100 (see below)

The difference in wireline and fixed wireless will be much less of an issue when looking at speeds of 1000/1000 because even in some of the most generous estimated speeds for fixed wireless are not that high. Also, while there were lots of changes in the ranking in other speeds, there weren’t as many changes at this speed.

(It’s worth noting that the Minnesota map looks at Gig access (1000/1000), while the national map looks at access to 1000/100.

Here’s the ranking:

From the Office of Broadband Development…

Broadband Matters: Office of Broadband Development Updates

• Broadband Task Force, meeting in November
• Line Extension Connection Program update
• BEAD updates + news
• OBD in the field!

Broadband Task Force, meeting in November
The Broadband Task Force will be meeting on Thursday November 13 at 10am. This meeting will be held virtually and is open to anyone from the public to attend. The Teams link to join the meeting will be included at the top of the meeting agenda, which is posted along with other information on past meetings on the Broadband Task Force webpage.
More information on this and past meetings can be found on the Broadband Task Force webpage.

OBD expects the round to have $3.5M in Capital Projects Fund (CPF) dollars available to grant. Information and resources on Line Extension are posted to the OBD Line Extension Connection Program webpage. OBD also expects to run a fifth round of Line Extension with state project funds.

While the window for residential and business sign-ups to be included in the bidding for Round 4 of the Line Extension Connection Program has closed, registration will remain open for future rounds if and as funding is available.

Questions on Line Extension can be sent to deed.broadband@state.mn.us or (651)-259-7610.
BEAD updates + news
As required by the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Minnesota OBD submitted its Final Draft Proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), including the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, on September 4, 2025. NTIA has committed to review and approve plans in 90 days. OBD will continue to revise and update the documents as required by NTIA and as is necessary to ensure all BEAD eligible locations are served as defined by the policy notice. Updated and additional information for BEAD in Minnesota will be posted to the OBD BEAD webpage.

BEAD has been featured nationally in the news, including two October 2025 reports from the Advance Communications Law & Policy Institute (ACLP) finding that BEAD is on track to end with $21 billion in leftover funds, and one million locations might remain unserved post-BEAD.

OBD in the field!

Over the past two months, OBD staff have gone on site visits for Arvig, Federated Rural Electric and Broadband, Woodstock Communications, Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC), JTN Communications, KMTelecom, Nuvera, Comcast, and Albany Mutual Telephone Association projects.

Earlier this week, OBD Executive Director Bree Maki attended the National Rural Telecommunications Council’s (NRTC) TechConnect 2025 and spoke on the panel Funding the Future: BEAD Insights, Lessons Learned and Post-Award Compliance.

Happy 4th of July

MN Broadband Task Force June 2025: Digital Inclusion program in St Paul
The MN Broadband Task Force heard from digital equity workers from Neighborhood House, a nonprofit in St Paul that works with people in need. Also, Bree Maki, from the Office of Broadband Development, gave an update on BEAD.

MN Legislators extend many tax breaks for tech companies
In a special session, the Minnesota Legislature passed a bipartisan that extends tax breaks for some technology companies. However, they also decided to revoke the sales tax exemption on electricity bills.

NTIA changes to the BEAD requirements
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration released changes to the original Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program including a focus on technology neutrality and lowest costs.

State News   

• State Broadband Offices, including MN, concerned about BEAD changes
• Losing Digital Equity Act funding will impact Minnesota
• Legislature agrees on budgets and bill in one-day special session – including increased in tax for data centers
• Lumen Defaults on More Than 41,000 RDOF Locations – including those in Minnesota
• Legislature’s Monday special session aims to finish the budget

Federal

• Supreme Court finds Universal Service Fund contribution scheme and management were Constitutional
• Sen Klobuchar with more than 40 Members of the House and Senate ask the Trump Administration to reverse course and fully implement broadband
• WI Governor asks WI Legislature to approve broadband funding in WI
• Benton Institute for Broadband & Society on the impact of policy and broadband adoption
• US House moves to restore ReConnect Funding for 2026
• State Broadband Offices plan to work with BEAD – including MN’s OBD
• Looking at BEAD changes from the County Perspective from Doug Dawson
• Proposed changes to federal tax bill would deny states federal funding for broadband if they regulate AI
• State broadband leaders react to BEAD goal of awarding cheapest cost per user
• Big changes expected as another FCC Commissioner resigns
• States, including Minnesota, talk about impact of BEAD uncertainty

Vendor/Technology News

• Lumen RDOF defaults include 3,265 locations in MN for a total default of $15.6M
• Do satellite providers get more time to meet BEAD speed requirements than other broadband providers?
• Tremolo Communications unites four MN broadband providers in a common vision
• Trump announces new Trump Phone and Trump Mobile 5G
• WISPA tells members to update their unlicensed fixed wireless coverage with FCC maps to prep for BEAD
• The FCC denies LTD Broadband’s appeal earlier RDOF decision
• Midco Acquires SCI Broadband
• Fiber Connect panel finds fiber deployment problems stem from construction and permits

• Street Insider features broadband provider Bevcomm in Blue Earth MN

• Doug Dawson on impact of BEAD changes on broadband and broadband adjacent industries

Office of Broadband Development Updates and News:

• Office of Broadband Development Office Hours June 24, 2025: BEAD Pre-qualification is open
• OBD Updates: BEAD, Line Extension and Future Office Hours
• Office of Broadband Development Updates: BEAD Updates & June 17 Office Hours
• Office of Broadband Development Updates: Line Extension & Telecommuter Forward!

Local Broadband News

Bemidji
Paul Bunyan Communications weathered the storm – literally

Hinckley
ECE expands broadband from east of Hinckley to the Wisconsin border (Pine County)

Itasca and St Louis Counties
Paul Bunyan Communications broadband expansion updates in Itasca and St. Louis Counties

Martin County
Federated Broadband Holds Groundbreaking For Martin County Fiber Project

Webster and Elko New Market
Mediacom brings Gig+ service to Webster and Elko New Market (Rice and Scott Counties)

Upcoming Events, Opportunities and Resources

• August 21 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• September 17 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• October 15 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• November 13 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• December 18MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• OPPORTUNITY: Applications are now open for TechCongress January 2026 Congressional Fellowships
• OPPORTUNITIES: Apply to be a 2025 Digital Inclusion Fellow
• Connect Humanity: Investment capital for community-focused broadband projects
• OPPORTUNITY: Net Inclusion 2026 Call for Proposals

ENews is back. Last month, eNews was compiled and posted online, but not sent via email as the email software was getting an upgrade.

MN Broadband Task Force April 2025 hears from Department of Labor and Industry
The MN Broadband Task Force met and heard from the Department of Labor and Industry about training and certification for broadband installers, a timely topic as the MN Legislature looks at amending rules that passed last session requiring training and certification for broadband installers. They also heard from very satisfied customers of the Line Extension program.

State News   

• SF908 passes in Senate to provide revisions on broadband installer training and certification
• MN is one of 11 states that asks the FCC to defend lower cost calls from prison
• MN House passes Agriculture bill that includes funding for Office of Broadband
• X (formerly Twitter) sues Minnesota over state law that bans AI-generated “deepfakes” to influence an election
• 37 Broadband providers are prequalified to apply for BEAD in Minnesota
• Ookla reports MN access to broadband (100/20) increases from 42 to 59 percent between 2023 and 2024
• Minnesota broadband provider tells USTelecom conference Minnesotans expect fiber
• Minnesota House is looking at taking social media companies for collecting customer data
• Reps McEwen and Johnson oppose HF47: a bill that relaxes recent legislation on certification for telecommunications installers
• MN House committee recommends no change to funding for Office of Broadband Development
• MN Senate Committee refers Senate SF0908: revisions on broadband installer training and certification, to Floor
• Bill introduced in MN Senate: SF2224 relieving telecommunications carriers of the obligation to serve certain areas & requiring PUC to resolve disputes

Federal

• How can we help veterans get online? Will Trump Administration changes make that harder?
• Senator Klobuchar’s bipartisan bill to protect online security and stop deepfakes passes Congress
• Institute for Local Self Reliance talks with former BEAD Director Evan Feinman about BEAD
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will no longer cover costs for high-speed internet for rural healthcare providers
• State Legislators (including some from MN) ask Commerce Secretary not to delay BEAD
• Blair Levin details four possible changes to BEAD
• Has delay become the default setting for the American Government?
• Broadband prices are going up and customers are making hard decisions
• Can community/public broadband plans help serve unserved areas?
• Public Interest groups offer four proposals to close the digital divide
• Broadband providers talk about benefits of removing Carrier-of-Last-Resort Laws
• ILSR talks about States wanting defaulted RDOF allocations
• What are potential impacts of DOGE in the FCC?
• Loss of federal Library Funding could impact digital adoption in rural areas
• Experts say new tariffs likely to impact telecom supply chains
• Benton finds connection between ACP and broadband adoption

Vendor/Technology News

• Amazon launches its first internet satellites
• Digital Footprint: Who knows what about you online – and how can you manage that.
• Recent study on consumer takes on various broadband technologies
• Questions about what’s happening with the 5G Fund and how it might impact rural areas
• Arvig recommends redundant fiber connections in Mpls St Paul Magazine
• Two ways broadband providers can serve low-income households: Low Cost Plans and Fixed Discounts

Office of Broadband Development Updates and News:

• MN Office of Broadband Development: Grant deadline moves as do coinciding meetings
• Office of Broadband Development Update April 23: Job opening
• OBD Office Hours April 15: last meeting for BEAD Round 1 – MN forging ahead
• MN House reports on OBD proposed budget report: $1,001,000 in 2026 and 2027
• Broadband Matters April 9 OBD Updates: BEAD deadlines and upcoming meetings
• Broadband Matters OBD Updates April 8: Q&A on BEAD application details
• Wishing Diane Wells happy retirement from Office of Broadband Development
• MN Office of Broadband Development asks NTIA to keep States in control of BEAD funding
• OBD Office Hours April 1: Detailed questions about BEAD the applications

Local Broadband News

Arlington
A view from Arlington MN on current MN broadband legislation

Bemidji
Thousands Gather in Bemidji for GigaZone Gaming Championship & TechXpo

Brownsville
Brownsville City Council supports Acentek application (Houston County)

Carver and Scott Counties
Comcast to expand broadband to Prior Lake, Savage, Victoria and Waconia

Ely
Ely City Council supports HF1740 Equal access to broadband bill

Faribault County
Mediacom brings multi-gig access in Wells and Winnebago MN

Itasca County
Paul Bunyan Communications is expanding the GigaZone to Coleraine and Bovey

North Branch
East Central Energy to bring fiber to North Branch

Park Rapids
Park Rapids MN (Hubbard County Veteran Service Office) get telehealth system for vets

St Louis County
Paul Bunyan Communications adds 350 more locations to fiber expansion plan in Northern MN (St Louis County)
Paul Bunyan Communications to bring FTTH to more than 1,600 more locations in 2025

Sherburne County
Sherburne County supports BEAD applications with four broadband providers

Upcoming Events, Opportunities and Resources

• May 14-15: AAPB Public Broadband Conference and Hill Day (Washington DC)
• May 15 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• June 11 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• June 12: Speeding BEAD Summit A one-day conference on expediting BEAD
• August 21 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• September 17 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• October 15 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• November 13 MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• December 18MN Broadband Task Force Monthly Meeting
• OPPORTUNITY: Nominate Your Digital Equity Champion
• OPPORTUNITY: Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Community Connect Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2025

From the MN House…

Time: 11 a.m.
Event: House Ways and Means Committee

Agenda:

HF1704 (Anderson, P.H.) Department of Agriculture, the Board of Animal Health, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute, and the Office of Broadband Development budget established; policy and technical changes made to agricultural and broadband provisions; rulemaking authorized; reports required; and money appropriated. 

HF1722 (Davids) U.S. Highway 63 segment designated as Officer Jason B. Meyer Memorial Highway.

Channel: HTV1

Route Fifty reports…

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced Wednesday the department would undertake a “rigorous review” of the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, and said it would now take a “tech-neutral approach.”

Lutnick also pledged to reverse many “pointless requirements” the Biden administration had attached to the program and said it would find ways to speed up infrastructure construction, while reducing delays and alleged waste. He also assailed the former president for the program’s “woke mandates, favoritism towards certain technologies, and burdensome regulations,” and said it is in “dire need of a readjustment.”

“Under the revamped BEAD program, all Americans will receive the benefit of the bargain that Congress intended,” Lutnick said in a statement. “We’re going to deliver high-speed internet access, and we will do it efficiently and effectively at the lowest cost to taxpayers.”

Today the MN House Taxes Committee hear on two broadband-related bills. I will post them separately for easily search access. They started with HF951 (Davids) – Sales and use tax exemption for telecommunications or pay television services machinery and equipment modified, which was laid over for possible inclusion in omnibus.

HF951 (Davids) – Sales and use tax exemption for telecommunications or pay television services machinery and equipment modified.

• HF951 House Research Summary
• HF951 Revenue Estimate
• HF951 Letter of Support

Description of the bill

• Extend exemption for sales take for telephone and pat TV even if not used exclusively for telephone/TV

Testifiers: 

Sarah Pysick CTIA

• This deletes the work primarily – it will modernize the bill
• Current bill was adopted in 2001 – that was a long time ago
• Wireless and wireline service provide telephone/TV/internet
• Provides clarity and certainty to providers

Brent Christensen MTA

• This fixes a problem that none of us know would happen
• The tax exemption has been changed several times over the years – the intention was not to be for telephone/TV only
• The tax folks have been reading this law differently, which is leading to confusion

Questions

Q: This is a $250M tax to us that will go away. Is there an attempt to do this without tax cut. Why must we always narrow the tax base. What is the benefit to taxpayers?
If the bill had passed the way it was intended in 2017, we would not have collected so much money. We have been over collected. Also, the less we pay in taxes, the more we spend on building broadband.

Q: Does this extend from a digital side – like YouTube – or broadcast?
This is capital expenditures – putting fiber in the ground.

Q: We need to recognize that when taxes increase to corporations, they pass the expense down to the consumer.

Q: This helps clear confusion.

Q: Are companies really using this money to invest in buildout?

Laid over for possible inclusion in omnibus.

I thought this event (Cybersecurity is Equity Work) might be of interest, especially as the MN Legislature is looking at supporting cyber security efforts in cities, towns and townships (HF140)…

For years I’ve talked about the value of fiber in getting fast broadband to a house or community. Today I learned about a nice byproduct – the value of the fiber as a sensor. Imagine you have fiber deployed alongside a highway. The fiber can be used a sensor along that road to track traffic or sense a construction nearby that might mean a backhoe is getting dangerously close to the fiber, or it might sense a car that has unexpected stopped late at night on a remote road.

There’s video from the Fiber Optic Sensing Association that does a good job describing the idea, the benefits and the how it’s done.

In December 2024, I completed the MN Broadband County Profiles. These are  the MN Broadband Tribal Profiles. Spoiler alert, the tribal counties and communities all show 100 percent coverage for broadband at speeds of 100 Mbps down and 25 up. Congratulations to them!

I wasn’t able to use the same tools I used for the County Profiles because the MN interactive map doesn’t track broadband by tribal area. However, I can pull maps from the interactive map that show (but don’t give data) coverage in tribal areas. (I have screenshots showing unserved areas.) I used the FCC National Broadband Map to get the data. There appear to be some discrepancies in the 100 percent in data and seeing unserved dot in the maps.

Below is a chart tracking speeds for 2024, 2021 and 2019 for speeds of 25 Mbps down and 3 up (25/3) and 100/20. (The map shown is from 2023, but I thought it was best for the high level view of where the tribals areas are and a glimpse at broadband coverage.)

• Bois Forte Reservation
• Fond du Lac Reservation
• Grand Portage Reservation
• Leech Lake Reservation
• Lower Sioux Indian Community
• Mille Lacs Reservation
• Prairie Island Indian Community
• Red Lake Reservation
• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community
• Upper Sioux Community
• White Earth Reservation