2022 Annual Report of Minnesota Governor's Task Force on Broadband

Improvements in our state broadband mapping data and related resources has revealed that we have more households and businesses without access to broadband than understood in 2021 (>198,000 with no service or insufficient service @ 25/3 and >291,000 @ 100/20). As the new Federal Communications Commission "fabric map" updates coverage through a challenge process, it is expected this number will reveal further deficits in coverage. With over 80% of the unserved and underserved areas being in outside the seven counties of the Twin Cities region, reaching all Minnesotans in some of the hardest areas to serve will be more costly. We must budget accordingly, knowing that the cost per household will require greater investment. Clearly the billions of dollars of federal money being allocated to close broadband coverage gaps will dramatically improve Minnesota's ability to serve every Minnesotan, however our estimates indicate that the legislature will still need to dedicate resources from reserves to fully meet the need. The recommendations in this report will outline what is needed from legislative leadership & agencies.