From Crumbs to Connections: Minnesota’s Broadband Future

When it comes to federal efforts to close the digital divide, Minnesota has been left behind. Program after program has promised transformational change—yet time and again, your communities are still waiting. But Minnesota has the power—and the track record—to build its own broadband future. Federal broadband programs have failed the state. They promised a feast and delivered crumbs. In the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, ISPs defaulted on 80% of  more than $400,000,000 in state RDOF funds and on 78% of the over 142,000 RDOF locations. In the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, 22,000 out of 76,000 eligible locations received no bids at all, because ten fiber providers dropped out rather than play a rigged game. Of the remaining locations in the state, just 58% will get fiber, while approximately 25% will get satellite and 17% fixed wireless. Let’s be clear: the latter two aren’t long-term solutions. Satellite is expensive, congested, and limited. Fixed wireless can’t keep up with the demands of advanced applications. And for nearly a third of BEAD-eligible Minnesota households, there is no solution. But Minnesota doesn’t need to wait. Minnesota knows how to help itself. The path forward is community broadband. Cities like Willmar. Coalitions like Southwest Broadband. Counties like Dakota and Scott. These aren’t dreams. They are models, ready to be replicated across the state. Because broadband is not just infrastructure—it’s opportunity. It’s fairness. It’s security. And it’s the foundation for the communities we dare to imagine. If Minnesota communities want to close its digital divide once and for all, they can’t wait for Washington. They have to do it for themselves. And the good news is—they can.

[Gigi Sohn is the Executive Director of the American Association for Public Broadband and the Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate.]