This document discusses broadband access in the Headwaters Region and the challenges of providing adequate broadband speeds to rural areas. It notes that FCC broadband standards have increased significantly in recent years. While some areas served by major carriers within 3,000 feet of exchanges may meet the 2022 state broadband goal of 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload, no areas would meet the 2026 goal of 100 Mbps/20 Mbps. The document advocates for fiber broadband infrastructure investment, noting its costs but also the economic benefits it provides. It concludes that continued broadband emphasis is needed for underserved areas to remain competitive, and that subsidies are necessary to spur private investment in rural broadband.

1. Broadband in
the Headwaters Region
What’s at stake?

2. Broadband Fun Facts
• Faster broadband
– FCC standard increased 30-fold between 2008 and
2016
– Some ISPs increased speeds 100-fold in same period
• Households
– Use more than 250 GB of data/month and rising
– Have 13 connected devices; 50 devices by 2022
• Computers, phones, fitness devices, home security,
medical devices, thermostats, personal assistants,
watches, home appliances, cars, farm animals, sensors,
tractors,

3. Fun, or not so fun,
depending on where you live!

5. Broadband
Upload
Speed
Affordability
Reliability
Mobility
Latency
Download
Speed
Assess Your Community’s Broadband

7. Broadband
in the
Headwaters
Region

8. Technology Challenges
• All technologies are getting better, but …
• Cellular
– 5g requires fiber to within 1,000 feet of customer
– 4g/3g coverage can be spotty
– Beware of ** on “unlimited” data plans
• Satellite
– Latency/delay affects advanced use
– Same ** as cellular
• Fixed wireless
– Increasingly robust with fiber-fed towers,
especially on the prairie
– Trees eat wireless!

9. CAF II and ACAM Improvements
• FCC subsidies to incumbent providers
• Depending on program and location, a minimum connection is required
– 25 Mb/3 Mb , 10 Mb/1 Mb or 4 Mb/1 Mb
• No requirement to serve all unserved
• Using FTTN VDSL2, within 3,000 feet > 25 Mb possible
• At 10,000 feet = ~ 10 Mb
• Copper condition affects carrying capacity over distance
• Multiple copper pairs, if available, can be bonded to increase capacity,

10. Federal Broadband
Subsidies for Larger
Carriers (CAF II) and
Mid-size Carriers
(ACAM)
affecting the region
www.fcc.gov/repor
ts-
research/maps/caf-
2-accepted-map/
www.fcc.gov/repor
ts-
research/maps/a-
cam-offer-map/

11. FRONTIER’S LINDSTROM EXCHANGE
Red circles = 3,000 foot radius = 25 Mb/3 Mb and higher
Blue circles = 9,000 foot radius = between 25 Mb/3 Mb to 10 Mb/1 Mb

12. FRONTIER’S LINDSTROM EXCHANGE
Those within the circles, about 10% of land area, may meet the 2022 state goal of
25 Mb/3Mb; no one would meet the 100 Mb/20 Mb2026 state goal.

13. CENTURYLINK’S BRAHAM EXCHANGE
Red circles = 3,000 foot radius = 25 Mb/3 Mb and higher
Blue circles = 9,000 foot radius = between 25 Mb/3 Mb to 10 Mb/1 Mb

14. CENTURYLINK’S BRAHAM EXCHANGE
3,000 foot radius circles occupy less than 10 percent of the land area

15. Fiber Infrastructure Investment –
a good choice?
• Fiber to the Home costs from $4,000 - $12,000
per home to install
• Seventy percent of homebuyers will not buy a
home without a good broadband connection
• A fiber-connected home increases in value by
$3,000 to $7,000.
• Well-connected residents and businesses save
money in many ways, conservatively estimated at
$1,500 per year.
• Customers switching from satellite/cellular
packages to triple play FTTH report savings of
$300 - $400 per month!

16. What else costs about $10,000?
A bunch of 10 year-old stuff
on Craigslist!

17. Conclusions
• The Headwaters Region is better positioned with
broadband infrastructure than most rural regions in the
USA
• Continued emphasis on making use of broadband is
necessary to reach its potential
• Areas currently unserved or underserved will suffer in
their ability to compete within the region
• Subsidies are required to spur private sector
investment in rural broadband
• The MN Border to Border Broadband Fund is an
excellent tool but has no current appropriation
• MN Rural Broadband Coalition Day on the Hill is April
12. (www.mnbroadbandcoalition.com)

18. What’s good enough?
Local leadership decides!