Clay County
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | #41 of 87 | 87.89% |
| 2023 | #25 of 87 | 90.71% |
| 2022 | #20 of 87 | 92.06% |
| 2021 | #26 of 87 | 89.08% |
| 2020 | #23 of 87 | 87.57% |
| 2019 | #29 of 87 | 82.32% |
| 2018 | #19 of 87 | 82.52% |
| 2017 | #22 of 87 | 74.13% |
Red dots represent unserved locations.
Wired (wireline) and wireless (fixed, non-mobile) served location percentage at various speeds.
Clay County: Consistent, Incremental Improvements Over Years
Clay County’s rank dropped from 25 to 41. Clay County will benefit from a recent $5.1 million ReConnect award to reach about 500 locations. That will get them much closer to ubiquitous coverage.
Clay County gets a green ranking because they have 90 percent coverage and were awarded the $5 million ReConnect award.
- Over the years, Clay County (or cities within) has not invested in matches for any successful MN Broadband grants.
- Clay County will benefit from a 2024 $970,411 MN Broadband grant (Round 10) award that will serve 54 locations.
- Clay County will benefit from 21 line extension awards (Rounds 1 and 2), which extend broadband to individual locations.
- Last years’ estimates indicated that it would cost $2.6 million to get ubiquitous broadband in the county. (I haven’t updated the number because recent report offers scenarios of costs based on BEAD funding rules that make current estimates less predictable than in the past. Yet, I think the number is still helpful.)
- In 2022, Clay ranked 27 using Microsoft’s Digital Equity Tool, which looks at various factors of a community.
- Clay County will benefit from a ReConnect award: Red River Rural Telephone Association – The investment will be used to deploy high-speed fiber optics to 17 businesses, 55 farms, and one school in Clay County, and 482 people will benefit. They received $5,166,742 as a grant.
Household Density
19.2
Number of Providers
14
As of 2023 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
No
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2019 – Arvig (Loretel Systems, Inc.) – Cormorant Lakes Area Project – GRANT $430,780
2022 – 702 Communications – Western Clay County Kragnes Township– GRANT $2,624,830
2024:
- County: Clay
Red River Communications
Red River – Rural Hawley
Grant: $970,411
Local Match: $970,411
Total Budget: $1,940,822
Red River Rural Telephone Association (Red River Communications), seeks to build a fiber-to the-premise (FTTP) broadband project in Rural Hawley, located within Clay County, Minnesota. The proposed FTTP project would provide 54 currently unserved locations with access to 2.5 Gbps symmetrical broadband with a capacity of 10 Gbps per location. The rural farm centered community is located 27 miles east of the county seat of Moorhead, MN. Red River Rural Telephone Association is a progressive telecommunications Cooperative maintaining 2,400 miles of fiber with 4,700 customers. Clay County is committing $5,000 toward project costs.
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 7
MN Senate: 01, 04
MN House: 01B, 04A, 04B