Pine County
| Year | 100/20 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #83 – 71.29% | #54 – 51.75% |
| 2024 | #82 – 61.63% | |
| 2023 | #86 – 40.71% | |
| 2022 | #86 – 35.1% | |
| 2021 | #86 – 39.89% | |
| 2020 | #85 – 39.13% | |
| 2019 | #81 – 37.26% | |
| 2018 | #68 – 38.18% | |
| 2017 | #59 – 37.37% |
Red dots represent unserved locations.
Pine County: Progress is coming
Pine County’s broadband coverage increased greatly in the last year and with BEAD proposing to fund fiber in more than 2000 locations, their status has been upgraded from Red to Yellow.
At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 2,587 locations in Pine County. The majority of locations will get fiber, however a few will get satellite or fixed wireless connection, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.
There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Pine has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems like a strategy worth considering.)
Statewide, there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty. The emergence of East Central Energy has been a positive force in Pine County.
Household Density
10.7
Number of Providers
15
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
2017 – SCI (Savage Communications Inc.) — Dell Grove Township Broadband Expansion – GRANT $118,248
2021 – DEED awarded Pine County $2,787,734 of Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus funding to serve low and moderate-income areas with fiber to the premise which just started construction this past summer (2023).
2022 – Pine County received a congressionally-directed spending award through USDA ReConnect, in the amount of $5,576,250 to construct nearly 300 miles of fiber to 2,440 households.
2022 – East Central Energy, $4,750,000.00 (serving Pine and Kanabec) (Learn more)
2022 – East Central Energy – Kanabec Central – GRANT $4,403,000
2024:
- County: Pine, Aitkin
Savage Communications Inc
SCI – East Central MN
Grant: $3,563,817
Local Match: $3,713,817
Total Budget: $7,277,634
Savage Communications Inc. (SCI) will build Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) to 1,069 Locations within the townships of Barry, Finlayson, Hinckley, Kettle River, Norman, Partridge, Pine Lake, Sturgeon Lake, Wagner Townships and the city of Rutledge located in Pine and Aitkin County. SCI plans to offer initial Internet speeds of 1Gbps download and 1Gbps upload. Farms and businesses are in the project area, as are three (3) township halls. The company currently provides service to over 40 communities throughout East Central and Northern Minnesota since 1984. Pine County is contributing $75,000 toward the project.