Lake of the Woods County
| Year | Rank | 100/20 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | #53 of 87 | 78.82% |
| 2022 | #59 of 87 | 74.26% |
| 2021 | #55 of 87 | 74.31% |
| 2020 | #73 of 87 | 54.66% |
| 2019 | #65 of 87 | 53.93% |
| 2018 | #52 of 87 | 50.47% |
| 2017 | #85 of 87 | 0% |
Lake of the Woods County: Big Leap in Last Year
Lake of the Woods County ranks 53 (up six points) for broadband access out of 87 counties. They have 78.82 percent coverage to broadband of 100 Mbps down and 20 up. They have 696 households without access to broadband at that speed. Estimates indicate that it will cost $6.5 million to get to ubiquitous broadband in the county.
Lake of the Woods has been working on broadband for several years. They were a Blandin Broadband Community. In 2019, Wikstrom Telephone received a Border to Border award and they saw a big increase in access. In December 2022, Wikstrom received another award of $665,699 to serve rural sparsely populated areas in Kittson, Lake of the Woods, & Marshall in far NW Minnesota, passing 150 home, business, and farm locations.
Lake of the Woods continues to make incremental improvements but with limited engagement in the last few years and coverage hovering before 80 percent, they are not ranked as a red county.
Household Density
1.9
Number of Providers
10
As of 2023 · Source: MN DEED
Households with Device Access
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
statewide
Has Worked with Blandin Foundation
Yes
Has Received MN Grant(s)
Yes
2016 – SJOBERG’S INC. ROSEAU AND LAKE OF THE WOODS COUNTIES — GRANT: $354,740
2016 – WIKSTROM TELEPHONE COMPANY WIKTEL NW MN – GRANT: $950,823
2019 – Wikstrom Telephone – Wiktel NW MN Broadband Project – GRANT $1,151,526
2022 – Wikstrom Telephone Co. Inc, $665,699.00 (to serve Beltrami, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall)