Kanabec County
| Year | 100/20 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #49 – 86.16% | #29 – 72% |
| 2024 | #87 – 36.59% | |
| 2023 | #87 – 20.45% | |
| 2022 | #87 – 23.46% | |
| 2021 | #87 – 26.24% | |
| 2020 | #87 – 26.41% | |
| 2019 | #84 – 26.93% | |
| 2018 | #67 – 38.54% | |
| 2017 | #68 – 26.07% |
Red dots represent unserved locations.
Kanabec County: makes it from last to 49!
Congrats to Kanabec County for going from bottom ranking to 49 by increasing broadband by 50 percentage points! It sounds as if East Central Energy has been busy at work. I have bumped them from Red to Green Status given the extreme increase and potential for more with BEAD funding.
At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 1,026 locations in Kanabec County. The majority of locations will get fiber but some will get a satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute. That does leave a community discrepancy.
There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Kanabec has not benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that might be a strategy worth considering.)
Statewide, there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty. Although changes in the past, have been positive for Kanabec.
Household Density
13.8
Number of Providers
11
As of 2025 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2016 – BENTON COOPERATIVE TELEPHONE COMPANY BOCK – GRANT: $510,000
2022 – East Central Energy – Isanti North – GRANT $5,000,000
2022 – East Central Energy – Kanabec Central – GRANT $4,403,000
2022 – East Central Energy – Pine South – GRANT $4,750,000
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 8
MN Senate: 10, 11
MN House: 10A, 10B, 11B