Anoka County

Table of goal data by year

Year	25/3 Mbps	100/20 Mbps
2020	#11 of 87 98.57%	#9 of 87 97.14%
2019	#11 of 87 98.8%	#8 of 87 97.47%
2018	#10 of 87 98.87%	#5 of 87 97.86%
2017	#18 of 87 97.56%	#7 of 87 96.1%

Coverage Map

Rank: 9 (out of 87) for access to 100/20 megabits per second (Mbps)

As a fairly (but not entirely) metro county, it is easier for providers to make a business case to serve Anoka. They received an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant in 2013, which has helped serve government facilities. Their coverage has slightly slipped in the last few years, albeit by less than a percentage point. Their ranking has slipped too, as other counties improve their coverage. However, early in 2020, they began working with the Blandin Foundation to find a way to serve their unserved areas.

What we learned in the past:

The County received federal (ARRA) funding in 2013. In partnership with Zayo, the County was able to build a 287-mile broadband network for government facilities.

Update from 2020:

Anoka County Regional Economic Development has been working with the Blandin Foundation’s Community Broadband Resources program to help the cities of East Bethel, Columbus, Nowthen and Linwood Township with broadband improvement projects.

City of Nowthen, East Bethel and Columbus are looking to partner with one or more providers to build out the last-mile fiber network to all those unserved or underserved in their community. They are considering a variety of strategies and funding to solve their broadband issues.

Linwood Township is partnering with Midco to connect a 50+ single family development to broadband services.  Linwood is also considering options to improve fiber connections in other unserved or underserved portions of their community.

Find more articles on broadband in Anoka County.