Cass County
Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
---|---|---|
2023 | #80 of 87 | 56.15% |
2022 | #79 of 87 | 56.37% |
2021 | #71 of 87 | 64.02% |
2020 | #67 of 87 | 63.21% |
2019 | #68 of 87 | 51.61% |
2018 | #70 of 87 | 35.92% |
2017 | #61 of 87 | 34.07% |
Cass County: A Long Way to Go
Cass County ranks 80, down one, for broadband access out of 87 counties. Their coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 is 56.15 percent. They have 10179 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $95 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
Cass County’s rank and percentage of cover has slipped slightly this year. This is the second year that coverage for 100/20 has dipped. One concern is that they have had wide access to 25/3 for many years, which may make some people feel complacent with the access they have and then broadband dips in community priority.
In December 2022, CTC was awarded $4.9 million in a Border to Border grant to extend broadband to parts of St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties. So that should help. In February, Cass County voted to invest ARPA funds on a broadband grant submitted by Arvig, which didn’t get funding but still shows an interest.
Unfortunately, Cass County will retain their red ranking because they are still at the bottom of the rankings.
Household Density
9.6
Number of Providers
18
As of 2023 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
See examples of community broadband adoption projects from Cass County and other communities participating in this 2015-2016 Blandin Broadband Communities cohort https://blandinfoundation.org/content/uploads/vy/BBC_2015-16_Project_Matrix.pdf
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2016 – TDS TELECOM CASS & CROW WING COUNTIES — GRANT: $3,000,000
2014 – Consolidated Telephone Cooperative, Region 5 Virtual Highway Project – Award $2 million
2019 – Paul Bunyan Communications – North Central Minnesota Fiber Project– GRANT $2,562,916
2019 – WCTA (West Central Telephone Association) – Rural Staples Phase I Project – GRANT $555,355
2020 – CTC received CARES Act funding from both Crow Wing and Cass County.
West Central Telephone Association – Rural Staples Phase 2 – GRANT $465,050 This last mile project will serve 56 unserved locations in extremely rural areas of Wadena and Cass counties.
2022 – Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC) was one of the grant recipients, receiving $4,857,030 in funding (to cover St. Louis, Carlton, and Cass counties)
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 8
MN Senate: 02, 05, 06
MN House: 02B, 05A, 05B, 06A