Watonwan County

Table of goal data by year

Year	Rank	100/20 Mbps
2024	#75 of 87	71.69%
2023	#73 of 87	70.03%
2022	#65 of 87	71.06%
2021	#64 of 87	69.25%
2020	#61 of 87	68.5%
2019	#58 of 87	67.75%
2018	#34 of 87	68.42%
2017	#31 of 87	64.58%

Red dots represent unserved locations.

Wired (wireline) and wireless (fixed, non-mobile) served location percentage at various speeds.

Watonwan County: Hovering Around 70 Percent

Watonwan County ranks 75 (down two places) for broadband access and out of 87 counties. Watonwan County has been hovering around 70 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up since we began tracking. I don’t see any grants in the hopper or yet to be spent that could help them. They retain their red ranking.

Also they may also concerned about being in a potentially precarious position because looking at access in the County using the FCC National Map there is a big discrepancy between wireline access (68.15 percent coverage) and wireline with fixed wireless (99.74 percent). Minnesota doesn’t currently take fixed wireless into consideration when defining areas eligible for grants; the federal government does include access to fixed wireless. That could make a big difference to who is eligible for BEAD funding.

• Over the years, Watonwan County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
• Watonwan County will not benefit from a 2024 MN Broadband grant.
• Watonwan County will not benefit from any line extension awards.
• Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $12.4 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, Watonwan ranked 79 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.