Fond du Lac Reservation
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #1 of 11 | 100% |
| 2021 | #8 of 11 | 66.4% |
| 2019 | #8 of 11 | 19.5% |
Former Blandin Broadband community, Fond du Lac Reservation, has been working on better broadband for 20 years. Their broadband deployment has been more gradual than some of the other tribal communities.
In March 2022, the Minnesota Broadband Task Force featured Fond du Lac in a monthly meeting. Tribal staff talked about how they approached broadband from all angles – they built demand, wrote grants, realized fiber was the answer and became a fiber broadband provider.
In April, 2023, Fond du Lac Communications, withdrew from their CAF II funding bid.
In October 2024, the Institute for Local Self Reliance featured Fond du Lac and other MN tribals communities building broadband mentioning that the build was supported by grants from the US Department of Agriculture’s Community Connect Program, Minnesota’s Border-to-Border broadband program, and HUD Indian Community Development Block Grants as well as a significant investment from the Tribal government. Network construction began in 2017 with the first subscribers coming online in 2019. The network currently serves about twelve hundred subscribers. (Some aspects surely built from their 2021 report on broadband in tribal areas.)
Household Density
.1
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – Brookston Project – GRANT $258,265
This last mile project will serve up to 108 unserved homes, 8 unserved businesses, and 1 community anchor institution in a project area in the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation in northeastern Minnesota. This area also includes the town of Brookston. A funding partnership with the State of Minnesota and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will improve broadband service levels up to 1 Gbps down and 1 Gbps up, exceeding the 2026 state speed goals. It will also add needed additional network redundancy for the Fond du Lac Reservation. The fiber-to-the-home network will open up many opportunities such as telemedicine, Home Health Care, and improved and secure electronic health records; and online education and improved business development and more. All these factors will assist in creating a more vibrant community and region.
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa – Big Lake Road Project – GRANT $602,916
This last mile project will upgrade approximately 37 unserved and 99 underserved locations in
a portion of Carlton County located within the boundaries of the Fond du Lac Reservation, including the western part of the City of Cloquet and Perch Lake Township. In a funding partnership with the State of Minnesota, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will improve broadband service levels up to 1 Gbps download and 1 Gbps upload, meeting or exceeding the 2022 and 2026 state speed goals. By building a fiber to the home network, faster internet speeds will open up many opportunities such as telemedicine, home health care, electronic health records, online schooling, business development and more. All of these factors will assist in creating a more vibrant community and region.