Douglas County
| Year | 100/20 Mbps | 1 Gbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #55 – 85.49% | #64 – 39.98% |
| 2024 | #53 – 83.48% | |
| 2023 | #57 – 77.58% | |
| 2022 | #58 – 74.59% | |
| 2021 | #59 – 72.89% | |
| 2020 | #57 – 70% | |
| 2019 | #56 – 68.82% | |
| 2018 | #76 – 25.56% | |
| 2017 | #80 – 7.68% |
Red dots represent unserved locations.
Douglas County: Slow improvement but engaged providers
Douglas County has seen incremental increase in broadband access in the last year, after a nice climb the year before.
At the time of writing, the MN BEAD final proposal has not been approved, but the current proposal would mean coverage for 484 locations in Douglas County. Some of the locations will get fiber and some locations will get a satellite, which does not qualify as served in the MN statute.
There is still Line Extension funding yet to be distributed, which helps connect handfuls of houses just beyond existing infrastructure. (Douglas has benefitted from earlier Line Extension awards. So that seems hopeful for them as well.) Statewide, there have been changes with local and national broadband providers, which also leads to uncertainty.
Douglas will get some fiber when the BEAD funding is disbursed but they will also get satellite, which will not meet the state goals. Douglas retains their Yellow status.
Household Density
26.1
Number of Providers
14
As of 2025 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
No
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2015 – Runestone Telephone Association – Holmes City – Grant award: $189,990
2016 – GARDONVILLE COOPERATIVE TELEPHONE DOUGLAS COUNTY LAKE LOUISE – GRANT: $68,240
2016 – RUNESTONE TELEPHONE HOLMES CITY 2 — GRANT: $700,674
2017 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County: Country Estates FTTH Project – GRANT $101,624
2017 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County: Pospisil Drive FTTH Project – GRANT $54,155
2019 – Charter Communications – Lake Carlos Project – GRANT $74,540
2019 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Krohnfeldt Drive FTTH Project – GRANT $42,921
2019 – Runestone Telecom Association – South Alexandria Project – GRANT $1,760,423
Arvig (Tekstar Communications, Inc.) – Lake Osakis, Sauk Lake & Smith Lake Project – GRANT $486,458 This middle and last mile project will upgrade approximately 230 unserved and 39 underserved locations in Todd and Douglas counties.
Charter Communications (Spectrum) – West Lake Carlos – GRANT $24,450
This middle and last mile project will serve approximately 42 unserved households on the west side of Lake Carlos in Douglas County.
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County – County Road 34 FTTH Project – GRANT $1,551,370 This last mile project will serve 71 unserved and 544 underserved locations in Ida and Carlos townships in Douglas County.
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County – Hazel Hill Road FTTH Project – GRANT $692,929 This middle and last mile project will serve 212 unserved households, 79 unserved businesses and one unserved farm in Alexandria Township in Douglas County.
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association – Douglas County – Town Hall Road FTTH Project – GRANT $90,251 This last mile project will serve 46 unserved and 3 underserved locations in La Grand Township in Douglas County
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone – Buckskin – GRANT $857,013
2022 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association, $1,212,337.50
2022 – ReConnect Tekstar Communications $12,602,274
2023 – Gardonville Cooperative Telephone – Carlos – GRANT $665,950
2024:
- County: Douglas
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone
Gardonville – Douglas Cty
Grant: $223,521
Local Match: $223,522
Total Budget: $447,043
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association, a non-profit cooperative since 1943 and based in Brandon, MN, will build fiber to 5 non-contiguous areas across Douglas County to include parts of La Grand Township, Hudson Township, and Alexandria Township. This project will improve broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps and will serve 52 locations, primarily households and home based businesses. With 30% of Alexandria Public School District’s students lacking broadband at home, the project will help more students access the wide array of online learning opportunities, thereby providing more tools for the schools to bridge the achievement gaps they struggle to eliminate.
Government Districts
U.S. Congress: CD 7
MN Senate: 09, 12
MN House: 09B, 12B