Faribault County
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #31 of 87 | 91.83% |
| 2023 | #72 of 87 | 70.43% |
| 2022 | #62 of 87 | 72.68% |
| 2021 | #84 of 87 | 43.95% |
| 2020 | #83 of 87 | 40.56% |
| 2019 | #77 of 87 | 39.2% |
| 2018 | #60 of 87 | 42.28% |
| 2017 | #44 of 87 | 49.13% |
Red dots represent unserved locations.
Wired (wireline) and wireless (fixed, non-mobile) served location percentage at various speeds.
Faribault County: Found Traction to Move Forward
Faribault County rank bumped up from 72 to 31 for broadband access out of 87 counties. They are making local investments and working with local providers and it has made a difference in the last year. They have earned their green ranking.
- Over the years, Faribault County (or cities within) has invested $55,000 (total) for matches for 6 successful MN Broadband grants. This is an indicator of local government that is engaged and (literally) invested in better, local broadband.
- Faribault County will benefit from two 2024 MN Broadband grant award:
$1,779,163 to serve 543 locations and
$435,838 to serve 101 locations. - Faribault County will not benefit from line extension awards.
- Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $17.4 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, Faribault ranked 57 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
Household Density
8.8
Number of Providers
20
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
2017 – BEVCOMM (Easton Telephone Company) – Delavan SE Rural Project – GRANT $220,350
2016 – BLUE EARTH VALLEY TELEPHONE CO. (DBA BEVCOMM) RURAL WINNEBAGO – GRANT: $152,828
2015 – BEVCOMM Blue Earth Valley Telephone – Rural Winnebago Fiber-to-the-Premises Project – Grant award: $142,690
BEVCOMM (Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company & Easton Telephone Company) – Rural Faribault County Project – GRANT: $579,781
BEVCOMM received CARES Act funding from the County for broadband expansion.
BEVCOMM (Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company, Easton Telephone Company & Cannon Valley Telecom) – Rural Faribault County and Martin County Fiber Expansion Phase 2 Project – GRANT $1,182,818 This last mile project will serve approximately two unserved households, 203 underserved households, 46 underserved businesses, and 181 underserved farms in portions of Faribault and Martin counties.
Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association – SE Faribault/W Freeborn County FTTP – GRANT $953,842 This last-mile fiber optic project will bring service to 319 unserved locations, including 289 homes, 16 businesses, 11 farms, and three community anchor institutions in the townships of Clark, Foster, Kiester, Seely, Alden, Carlston, Manchester, Mansfield, and Pickerel Lake located in Southeastern Faribault and Western Freeborn counties.
2022 – Blue Earth Valley Telephone Co., dba Bevcomm and Cannon Valley Telecom, Inc.,dba Bevcomm, $1,444,030.00
2024:
- County: Faribault, Freeborn
Blue Earth Valley Telephone Company Faribault County Fiber Expansion Project – Final Phase
Grant: $1,779,163
Local Match: $5,337,488
Total Budget: $7,116,651
The Faribault County Fiber Expansion Project – Final Phase project will build an underground fiber network to serve the remaining unserved and underserved locations in Faribault county’s rural Wells and Blue Earth, offering speeds of up to a Gigabit symmetrically with unlimited data. This final phase, last mile project will impact a total of 543 addresses, of which 423 are unserved and 120 are underserved, and includes 205 homes, 59 businesses, and 279 farms. Faribault County EDA has pledged $5,000 toward this project. - County: Blue Earth, Faribault
Bevcomm (Easton) Telephone
Bevcomm (Easton) Rural MN Lake
Grant: $435,838
Local Match: $1,016,956
Total Budget: $1,452,794
Bevcomm will build an underground fiber broadband network to 101 locations (86 unserved and 15 underserved), offering speeds up to a Gigabit symmetrically with unlimited data, to portions of rural Faribault and Blue Earth Counties. This project will impact 55 farms, 32 households, and 14 businesses. Faribault County EDA has pledged $5,000 and Minnesota Lake Township has pledged $1,000 toward project costs. Bevcomm has to date received 25 state grants, all of which have been successfully deployed and completed on time.
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 1
MN Senate: 22, 23
MN House: 22A, 23A