Kandiyohi County
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | #74 of 87 | 69.12% |
| 2022 | #69 of 87 | 68.18% |
| 2021 | #53 of 87 | 74.82% |
| 2020 | #49 of 87 | 73.78% |
| 2019 | #48 of 87 | 72.89% |
| 2018 | #86 of 87 | 10.64% |
| 2017 | #79 of 87 | 8.14% |
Kandiyohi County: From Code Yellow to Red
Kandiyohi County ranks 74 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 69.12 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 5427 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $50.4 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
Kandiyohi County has been working on better broadband for years. They saw a big improvement in 2019, but have been stagnant since. They came close to getting better broadband with CTC and a grant but that didn’t work out in the end.
They had been hovering around 70 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They saw a decrease to 68.18 percent in 2022, which is probably due to increased granularity of reporting within a margin of error.
In December 2022, Federated was awarded a Border to Border grant of almost $5 million to serve 343 unserved and 302 underserved homes, businesses, farms, and community anchor institutions in the Kandiyohi County. In 2023, Meeker Coop Light & Power was awarded two grants: one for $1.4 million to serve 185 locations in Kandiyohi and another $533,959 to serve 216 households, farms, businesses and community anchor institutions. In June 2023, United States Department of Agriculture announced a $19 million ReConnect round four grant to Meeker Cooperative Light and Power Association for a fiber-to-the-premises project covering portions of Meeker, Kandiyohi and Stearns counties.
Between Federated and Meeker Coop, they are applied for five grants in the latest Border to Border broadband grant round, which is still open but winner should be announced in early 2024.
Kandiyohi is creating partnerships that should help them get better broadband, especially when federal (BEAD) funding becomes available.
Household Density
20.4
Number of Providers
24
As of 2023 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2015 – MVTV Wireless Middle Mile – Grant award: $808,080
2016 – FRONTIER KANDIYOHI INITIATIVE – GRANT: $1,015,275
2017 – Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC) was awarded a $4.94 million grant to improve serves in New London, Spicer and Willmar, and Frontier was awarded a grant of $1.02 million to improve service in rural Kandiyohi County. Unfortunately, the CTC project did not work out.
2022 – Federated Telephone Cooperative, $4,913,505.50
2023 – Meeker Coop Light & Power – Lake Elizabeth-East Lake Lillian Townships – GRANT $1,428,066
2023 – Meeker Coop Light & Power – Harrison Township – GRANT $533,959