“The Dunn County Board of Supervisors has devoted a lot of resources to bring broadband everywhere in the county,” said Dan Dunbar, Assistant County Manager and Chief Information Officer. “We are now seeing the benefits of that investment.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in December that Bloomer Telephone Co. is receiving a $4.6 million grant and a $4.6 million loan to bring high-speed internet to 1,278 people, 32 businesses and 73 farms in Dunn and Chippewa counties.
Dunbar said this announcement addresses one of the few remaining areas of the county that is without access to high-speed internet. According to the latest information from the state Public Service Commission, of the 18,822 broadband serviceable locations in the county, just 368 locations were not served and had no construction work in progress.
That means less than 2 percent of the county residents had no access to high-speed internet currently.
Dunbar said the Bloomer grant, along with other projects in process, will bring the county broadband coverage even closer to 100 percent. For example, the PSC maps show areas near Colfax with no broadband access, but grants have been approved to alleviate that shortfall, he said.
There is a remaining pocket in the Hay River area without high-speed internet, Dunbar said, but a Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant has been applied for by Mosiac Technologies to address the Hay River area.
“Many of the areas the PSC thinks are unserved actually do have access,” Dunbar said. “We have worked with providers and closely reviewed each of the remaining 368 locations. 24-7 Telecom recently expanded their offerings to one unserved area, with 90 percent of the residents signing up for service.”
Dunbar added that when the Bloomer project is complete, and if Mosaic receives the BEAD grant, “We have identified only 20 locations yet to be served in the county. We are working hard with area providers to develop a plan for those last few houses.”
In June 2023, the Dunn County Broadband Task Force adopted a five-year plan to fulfill the group’s vision of giving all county residents “access to affordable broadband that is reliable, fast and future proof…”
Dunbar concluded: “We have come this far in Dunn County in providing high-speed internet access to our residents and businesses by working collaboratively with our service providers, and the support from the Board of Supervisors has been outstanding.”
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Residents of Dunn County enter 2025 with nearly all of the county either with access to fast broadband service or having the ability to hook up to broadband soon.
“The Dunn County Board of Supervisors has devoted a lot of resources to bring broadband everywhere in the county,” said Dan Dunbar, Assistant County Manager and Chief Information Officer. “We are now seeing the benefits of that investment.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in December that Bloomer Telephone Co. is receiving a $4.6 million grant and a $4.6 million loan to bring high-speed internet to 1,278 people, 32 businesses and 73 farms in Dunn and Chippewa counties.
Dunbar said this announcement addresses one of the few remaining areas of the county that is without access to high-speed internet. According to the latest information from the state Public Service Commission, of the 18,822 broadband serviceable locations in the county, just 368 locations were not served and had no construction work in progress.
That means less than 2 percent of the county residents had no access to high-speed internet currently.
Dunbar said the Bloomer grant, along with other projects in process, will bring the county broadband coverage even closer to 100 percent. For example, the PSC maps show areas near Colfax with no broadband access, but grants have been approved to alleviate that shortfall, he said.
There is a remaining pocket in the Hay River area without high-speed internet, Dunbar said, but a Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) grant has been applied for by Mosiac Technologies to address the Hay River area.
“Many of the areas the PSC thinks are unserved actually do have access,” Dunbar said. “We have worked with providers and closely reviewed each of the remaining 368 locations. 24-7 Telecom recently expanded their offerings to one unserved area, with 90 percent of the residents signing up for service.”
Dunbar added that when the Bloomer project is complete, and if Mosaic receives the BEAD grant, “We have identified only 20 locations yet to be served in the county. We are working hard with area providers to develop a plan for those last few houses.”
In June 2023, the Dunn County Broadband Task Force adopted a five-year plan to fulfill the group’s vision of giving all county residents “access to affordable broadband that is reliable, fast and future proof…”
Dunbar concluded: “We have come this far in Dunn County in providing high-speed internet access to our residents and businesses by working collaboratively with our service providers, and the support from the Board of Supervisors has been outstanding.”
