Faribault is not on track to meet either the 2022 or 2026 speeds goals. It looks like there was a dip in access to 100/20 after 2017; that is likely because in 2017 100/20 wireless access was included with wired. Now the maps track wired only. Regardless, they are not poised to meet speed goals.

Green=served Purple=underesrved Red=unserved

Faribault was one of the few counties in Minnesota where the broadband was deemed non-competitive for business by the FCC. IN 2018, Faribault County hosted a national broadband listening session.

The county has benefited from MN broadband grants:

• 2017 – BEVCOMM (Easton Telephone Company) – Delavan SE Rural Project – GRANT $220,350
  Serving 25 unserved households and 30 unserved businesses in the Delavan SE Rural Project located in Faribault County with access exceeding the 2022 and 2026 state speed goals.
• 2016 – BLUE EARTH VALLEY TELEPHONE CO. (DBA BEVCOMM) RURAL WINNEBAGO – GRANT:  $152,828
  Serving 18 unserved households (including farms), 8 unserved businesses, 2 underserved households, and 3 underserved businesses in the rural Winnebago area in Faribault County in Southern Minnesota.
• 2015 – BEVCOMM Blue Earth Valley Telephone – Rural Winnebago Fiber-to-the-Premises Project
  Grant award: $142,690
  Providing state speed goal broadband service and above to 30 unserved households and farms in rural Winnebago, in Faribault County in south-central Minnesota.

Here’s an update I got from one of the local providers last year:

Faribault County is mostly served by BEVCOMM and Mediacom. BEVCOMM is a rural ILEC that is not covered by CAF 2 funding, but has recently opted to accept ACAM model support, which will replace rural High Cost USF support.

BEVCOMM is a motivated local provider, making a concerted effort to serve the area’s broadband needs. It has received two Border to Border broadband grants in the last two years in Faribault County, and another 4 grants in other rural areas it serves in Freeborn, Martin and LeSueur counties. The local match for these grants was entirely funded by BEVCOMM, without any local city, township or county funds.

The local paper has been reporting on broadband opportunities. It will be interesting to see if they apply for grants this year. That would clearly help them and they need a concerted effort to improve the odds at meeting the state goals.

Faribault County could benefit from future grants. In 2019, BEVCOMM applied to upgrade service in Faribault. (That doesn’t mean they will get the grant; they have only applied.)

Checklist:

• 100/20 ranking: 77 (down 17 spaces)
• 25/3 ranking: 62
• Has worked with Blandin: yes
• Has received a MN Broadband grant: no
• Household density: 8.6
• Number of providers: 4

Details:

• Find more articles on broadband in Faribault County. (http://tinyurl.com/jzwv3gx)
• Districts: CD 1
  Senate: 23, 27
  House: 23A, 27A
• Find your reps

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)